Directed by: John Rando
Starring: Casey Likes, Roger Bart, and Hugh Coles
Rate: 4.5/5
Broadway is going back in time with “Back to the Future: The Musical”! The hit 1985 film “Back to the Future” has been adapted for the stage and is one of the most creative performances of the past decade. The musical follows Marty McFly, a high school student who after getting mixed up in Doc Brown’s time travel scheme is sent 30 years into the past. After accidentally altering the future, Marty must fix his mistakes and get back to 1985.
The characters of the musical are pretty spot on to those of the film. Marty McFly is played by Casey Likes, who keeps up that boyish charm that McFly is known for. Likes mostly has a film portfolio, with films such as “Dark Harvest,” and made his stage debut starring in “Almost Famous” on Broadway in 2022. Doc Brown on the other hand has been an elevated version of his character in the film. Played by Roger Bart, a Broadway veteran, his experience is noticeable on stage for all to see and definitely adds a rewarding touch for audiences.
Audiences have seen an uptick in digital sets in recent years, and “Back to the Future” is the perfect show to use digital sets to enhance the viewer experience. A perfect hybrid of natural and futuristic sets is the key to drawing the audience’s attention. While other shows like “Mean Girls” and “On Your Feet” use digital sets in a non-science fiction setting it doesn’t quite meet the mark production design-wise. A science fiction show like “Back to the Future: The Musical” is the perfect use of digital sets and enhances the high-speed chases, technological work of Doc Brown, and setting as well. Digital sets are the future, and “Back to the Future” does a fantastic job of showcasing all they can do.
Every performance is absolutely electrical with every single cast member and ensemble completely in sync with each other. With half the show taking place in the 1980s and the other half in the 1950s, the ensemble does a great job portraying these periods. Through dance, setting, wardrobe, and pop culture references, whichever decade each scene took place in was very prominent and made the show funnier to watch.
The Achilles heel of the show is the music, as none of the songs stand out on their own. Sure, they push the story forward but the only number that sticks out as phenomenal is a number not even performed by the main cast. “Gotta Start Somewhere,” performed by Goldie and the ensemble, had incredible energy from all and showcased Goldie’s golden voice. The audience can recognize songs like “Johnny B. Goode”, “Power Of Love”, and “Back In Time”. These songs wrap the show up in a perfect bow of nostalgia. But there are no powerhouse ballads, which take points off of the music side.
Every single ensemble member had star power as well. From the fabulous dancers to the backup vocalists anyone in the ensemble could claim a main role in the show. One member in particular did. JJ Niemann, who you may know from TikTok, is an ensemble member and understudy for Marty and George McFly. JJ documents his life on and off Broadway shows and has gained a following of over one million on TikTok. Frequently getting to step up to the plate, Niemann is someone Broadway fans should watch in the coming years.
“Back to the Future: The Musical” at its core is very technical, and to put on a show like this enhancements must be made to the typical design Broadway fans have seen in the past. The hyperrealistic DeLorean model zooms across the stage and even flies through the audience. That’s right, Doc and Marty come close to audience members, and the depth of field is altered to create a great experience for viewers. The moving backgrounds also make use of depth of field alterations to get the message across to fans. Whether it be large staircases, or Doc at the top of the clock tower, changing the audience’s perception significantly enhances the performance. The production design goes beyond the stage with its pixelated LED lights that surround the exterior of the stage providing a light show for all during the most intense moments in the show. The show does include a lot of light effects and sporadic light bursts which may make this show unfit for those with a sensitivity.
Some critics argued that the adaptation was too close to the original film and could benefit from a generational touch-up. Other critics, such as Tim Teeman from The Daily Beast claim, “Through the barrage of special effects, jokes, dramatic set-pieces, the stage-filling dancing and singing of the unsung heroes of the company—through all of it—the audience is visibly and audibly locked in, seduced, happy.” And happy they were. Audience members rave over the bubbly and electrifying musical. Back to the Future: The Musical” is currently playing at the Winter Garden Theater.
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