It’s time to get nostalgic at Playhouse Square, as the U.S. national tour of the award-winning BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL brings Doc Brown’s DeLorean to the KeyBank State Theatre now through July 7, 2024.
Regardless of the decade from which you hail, BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL will amuse and engage everyone from Generation Alpha through the Boomers. Everything from the orchestrations to the fashion statements are excitingly transportive.
The musical is based on the popular 1985 Robert Zemeckis / Bob Gale film Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson.
From the tour press release: Marty McFly is a rock ‘n’ roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time- traveling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown. But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence.
The characters are larger-than-life and nothing but lovable. Caden Brauch’s Marty McFly is cool and motivated. The urgency of his quest mixed with the awkwardness of avoiding an Oedipus situation makes for a supercharged and energetic character journey. Oh and his hair is fantastic, too! Burke Swanson is over-the-top as George McFly. His frantic gesticulations mixed with a nervous vocal patter create a “loser” persona that makes one want to grab and hug him. Zan Berube is great at making young Lorraine Baines (Marty’s future mom) into a clueless stalker, giving those Marty / young Lorraine scenes all of the best cringe they deserve. And Don Stephenson is electrifying as Doc Brown. His presentation of “It Works” is especially kinetic, as it seems he himself is powered by plutonium (and he’s got a chorus for backup).
Although some of the new musical numbers for the production are average and predictable songs by themselves (“It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Wherever We’re Going,” “Something About That Boy”), the energy the cast brings to them makes the live stage experience exciting and full of layers. A surprise in this area is the Goldie Wilson character with “Gotta Start Somewhere.” Cartreze Tucker lights up the stage with the excitement of a man who has seen his future for the first time – and we definitely want to hitch our trailers to this star. “My Myopia” (performed by Swanson) gives a super-playful look into the peeping-tom world of George McFly. What a gift it is to see all of the actors find such interesting pockets of personality! It’s not Shakespeare, but it sure as heck is entertaining.
Speaking of entertaining: a constant and animated force in the show is the presence of the chorus. The production even makes fun of itself, with nods to the fact that they know the backup dancers are excessively glorious and amusingly used. Nothing drives a plot point like a stage full of quintessential choreography and the joy of in sync dancers! It’s easy to lose count of the number of spins and partner flips that occur in this show – and that’s fine.
The fashion is definitely a statement in this throw-back as costumes, hair, and makeup all reflect the awesomeness 80s and the fun of the 50s. This is most apparent with the continued appearance of the chorus as they pop in and out of numbers wearing various getups. The set is a throw-back treasure trove of “old school,” with nods to JCPenney, and bench referencing photos being ready in 1 hour. Smile – the 80s was a great decade. And the 50s? Insert all 1950s stereotypes here.
But we haven’t even gotten to the tech yet, which makes the show feel like a blockbuster movie. The unique mix of front and back projections, along with stealth lighting creates an immersive atmosphere filled with fast-moving weather, and an even faster car. One of the coolest effects is Doc’s ascent to the clock tower in the storm (well timed and well choreographed). And all car scenes are (of course) straight up cool.
There are notable changes in the musical from the movie. Most absent are the 1980s Libyans, who originally gun down Doc in the parking lot. For the stage and for the year 2024, he’s got Plutonium poisoning… which is not as convincing, but we’ll suspend our disbelief. Also – Marty playing “Johnny B. Goode” at the end is no longer a Chuck Berry inspiration moment. Finally, the character of Goldie is more developed.
All in all, BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL is one wild ride and worth the trip. The experience as a whole is satisfyingly exciting, and you’ll want to take this one for a spin this summer.
TICKETS:
$39.00-$129.00
www.playhousesquare.org | 216-241-6000
From the PSQ website: Winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, four WhatsOnStage Awards, including Best New Musical, and the Broadway World Award for Best New Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical is adapted for the stage by the iconic film’s creators Bob Gale (Back to the Future trilogy) and Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and directed by the Tony Award-winner John Rando with original music by multi-Grammy winners Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame) and Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”), alongside hit songs from the movie including “The Power of Love,” “Johnny B. Goode,” “Earth Angel,” and “Back in Time.”
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Kate Klotzbach 