Review by Chris Heide
Pictured (L-R): Don Stephenson (Doc Brown) and Caden Brauch (Marty McFly) Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman, 2024
Oh, the irony of show with major technical issues while simultaneously having a storyline focused on technology. Back To The Future is unfortunately that show. Despite some major technical difficulties late in the show, that I will get to later, the show overall manages to pull off some dazzling technical feats, creating a truly cinematic experience.
I won’t bore you with a recap of the storyline. It is the exact storyline of the first Back To The Future movie, complete with direct references and jokes from the film. Unsurprisingly, these are the moment that evoke the most applause from the audience, surely tapping into the power of nostalgia. Any regular theater goer knows just how difficult it can be to build a musical around a beloved film. Currently on Broadway, there are several pop culture phenomena that have been turned into musicals, including The Devil Wears Prada and Death Becomes Her. Broadway has been in a tenuous position since reopening after covid; shows are quick to open and quick to close, with many rarely given the time or opportunity to build an audience. It makes sense to build a show around something that already has a built-in fan base. That, on the surface, seems to be the logic behind bringing Back To The Future to the stage.
If we dive a bit deeper, however, we can see a bombastic show that has the grit and heart to stand on its own two feet. The original musical numbers created for the show are certainly memorable, with catchy chorus’s and all the makings of a classic Broadway showstopper. The choreography s advanced and elegant; even the fight scenes have more realism than many other shows that attempt to stage a slap or a punch. The show builds a work that sucks you in and propels you into a world of nostalgia.
The show relies heavily on technology- the use of pre-recorded sequences used as backdrop is heavily peppered into the show, especially when Marty McFly himself drives the very real and very visceral DeLorean on stage. However, a heavy reliance on technology means a greater risk that something can go wrong; something that cannot be course corrected in the moment by the talented actors in this cast. Towards the end of the show, as momentum was quickly building towards the climax, a technical issue caused the show to be delayed… a minimum of three times. It was only after a 45-minute pause that the show resumed, skipping ahead to an entirely different scene. This was disappointing, because up until that point, the momentum towards the climax of the story was entirely and uniquely cinematic. Momentum is everything in live theatre.
Despite the technical difficulties, the show is very good and is likely to appeal to both novices to Broadway musicals and the regulars.