Back to the Future: The Musical Takes Us On a Wild Ride Through Time
I went into Back to the Future: The Musical with an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised by Mrs. Doubtfire and figured spending three hours in a musical about time travel and a main character who spends the arc of his story being pursued by a younger version of his mom would be a hoot.
While I went in with an open mind, I left with a couple of mixed opinions, particularly with this being a musical. From the off, I thought BTTF on stage would be awesome, and that aspect was executed well. As with Aladdin, they managed to have the Delorean fly around on the stage. With the help of screens, special effects, and awesome lighting, we also got to experience the “time travel” on the stage in a very crafty and unique way.
The most mixed of my mixed emotions, again, comes down to the music. Not every song was bad, but not every song was good, either. I thought it might be a little closer to the Beetlejuice adaptation for the stage, but it didn’t wow me in quite the same way in that regard.
What is the Music Like?
I like how Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the writers behind the show, approached the music. When the show starts, a digital screen is set to the current date, time, and location of where you are, which adds a great personal touch. The clock then rewinds during the overture to land us in 1985, the setting for the movie. The music in the 80s decade matches while we’re, as does the music from the 50s, the latter of which was, I think, better.
Even though the music didn’t fully “wow” me, I should at least be clear that it was still fun and wildly entertaining. “It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Cake,” “Something About That Boy,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and the finale with “Back in Time” are great, especially with the addition of the ensemble.
BTTF Tour: Caden Brauch and Company -Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
The music also helps capture some of the humor with the characters we love. For example, the first time Doc (Don Stephenson) sings, a group of backup dancers shows up to aid him, and the character jokes about how “these girls always show up when I sing.”
Props to the Performers
On the topic of Doc, Stephenson did a great job executing the role. At first, I was a little uncertain about Caden Brauch taking on the role of Marty McFly, but he quickly calmed my nerves and totally nailed the role within ten minutes. For someone making their “past, present and future national tour debut,” he did a great job and landed quite the iconic and memorable role.
One of my favorites, however, was Zan Berube, who played Lorraine Baines, the younger version of Marty’s mother. Firstly, I just love her voice. She also played Anne Boleyn on Six!, a favorite of mine (even though I never wrote a review on here, oops) and I loved her in that, as well. She commanded the stage anytime she was on it, and she added so much to the overall show for me.
BTTF Tour: Caden Brauch and Zan Berube - Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
I also really enjoyed the ensemble. In general, I feel like ensembles do a good job, but it was the facial expressions for me in this one that really sold it. The cast did their best to fit on the stage, which at times was clearly a bit smaller than they were used to, but nobody missed the mark along the way.
Respect Where It’s Due for the Crew
As awed as I ever am about people’s abilities to sing, dance, and act the way the performers do on the stage, nothing ever stumps the awe I feel for the people working in the back. I look at these sets, these transitions, the Delorean they have to make fly across the stage, and I am just stunned. Not only do they have to set this up and take it down, they have to travel around with these stages and props around the whole country to bring the show to life.
BTTF Tour: Caden Brauch - Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
More than that, each physical stage is different, and each set has to be adapted. Blocking has to change on the fly, and everyone has to be comfortable enough with what they’re doing at all times to be able to make the littlest difference go a long, long way.
The staging and setup were my favorite part in certain sections. During the climax, when Doc and Marty had to race to get the clock struck by lightning in time to send Marty back home, the way they oscillated between having Marty drive in the Delorean and Doc climbing the clock tower was one of the craftiest and most riveting things I’ve seen on stage. Again, I never doubted this would look great as a stage play, and in that regard, it totally delivered.
Overall Thoughts
Although I wouldn’t say this was my favorite show I’ve been to, I would say it’s still worth seeing, and it’s way better than I thought it would be. It takes what we know and love from the movie into a different spin, and it honors where it came from while still being unique in its own right. I’m grateful they didn’t try to pull from any of the other storylines, but the jokes they were able to incorporate about “2020” were hilarious, especially since the second film took place in 2015 (can you believe that was already a decade ago??)
BTTF Tour: Caden Brauch - Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
One of the best parts of the show, of course, was the ability to take a picture with the Delorean for yourself. Of all the shows I’ve seen, I’ve never really had props like that from the show to make it more memorable, and I hope to see more of than in the coming shows, too.
The show runs at the San Diego Civic Center through January 19. Grab your tickets, and check out the lineup for future cities to see when the show will be near you.
