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Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd was released in 1985 and became a huge hit grossing $388 million against a $19 million budget. This Robert Zemeckis film became an instant classic, earning four Academy Award nominations (winning one for Best Sound Effects Editing), five BAFTA nominations including one for Best Film, and of course, spawned two sequels which were filmed back-to-back.
All three movies have endured the test of time and have become global sensations that are still loved and highly regarded today. There had been talks of a fourth entry for decades but for multiple reasons, the movie was never able to get off the ground, so what’s the next best thing?
A stage musical adaptation of the first movie of course!
A Faithful Adaptation
Back to the Future: The Musical was announced in January 2014 with the intention to open in London’s West End in 2015, but was subsequently held back until 2020 when it premiered in Manchester. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the production was forced to close early. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom because it eventually opened at London’s Adelphi Theatre on September 13th, 2021.
As with the film, Marty McFly finds himself travelling from 1985 to 1955 in a modified time-travelling DeLorean created by his mentor and friend, Doctor Emmett Brown. The starkest difference between the movie and the musical is why Marty travels to 1955 in the first place, but beyond that, the plot remains largely the same as in the original film.
It should also be noted that this is an adaptation of the first movie and not its sequels, however, eagle-eyed fans will spot Easter Eggs and references to Parts II and III.
Weird and Wonderful
In theory, Back to the Future doesn’t sound like a movie that was made to receive a stage adaptation, and the reception the show from the original fans when it was announced back in 2014 wasn’t too positive. But I’m happy to report that Back to the Future: The Musical is an absolutely wonderful show.
I was incredibly excited to see the show, and when Act One started, I couldn’t help but cringe at moments. It was incredibly odd to see a movie I love so much be performed right before me, and yes, I’ve seen stage adaptations of movies before, but there’s just something weird about seeing Marty McFly and Doc Brown singing and dancing in front of you.
Thankfully, after a rocky start that made me think I wasn’t going to enjoy the show, once Marty travels back in time, the musical really picks up. The humour escalates ten-fold and the songs become far more memorable and enjoyable.
If you’re familiar with the movies then you will know that Marty changes time and inadvertently becomes the focus of his teenage mother’s affection, so it’s up to Marty to fix the timeline and have her fall in love with his father, George. Such scenes are cringy in the movie and would be worse to see it performed live if it wasn’t for the comedy and cheese injected into the musical’s book. Yes, it’s still very weird, but it’s at least easier to watch than you’d think thanks to the performances and the songs which help play up the ridiculousness of Marty’s situation.
Performances
Film adaptations are always tricky because it means the actors must be faithful to the character’s portrayal in the source material while still being able to put their own spin on the role. Back to the Future: The Musical does both brilliantly.
Tony Award-winner Roger Bart takes the essence of Christopher Lloyd’s performance and puts his own unique take on the character without changing him too much. However, I will say something that many fans will probably guillotine me for — Bart was funnier than Lloyd. Heavy, I know.
Rosanna Hyland’s Lorraine Baines and Aidan Cutler’s Biff Tannen were shockingly accurate to the movie, so much so that if the movie was ever remade (touch wood that it isn’t) Hyland and Cutler would be perfect for their respective roles. And while he isn’t in it too much, I just have to say it’s frightening how accurate Mark Oxtoby’s Strickland is to his movie counterpart, they look alike and they sound alike. When he first entered the stage, some audience members gasped and some chuckled in shock and disbelief at how much he looked like James Tolkan (the original movie Strickland) in costume.
At my performance, we were lucky to see a few understudies, which included Will Haswell taking over Olly Dobson’s role for the night. Haswell has all the trappings of a future theatre star, his singing was excellent and his acting was top-notch. In fact, he was so good that we just assumed he was the principal Marty McFly.
One performance that blew the audience away was Cameron McAllister, the understudy for George McFly. From the whispers in the dark around me, I could hear how surprised audiences were at how much he nailed Crispin Glover’s mannerisms and speech patterns.
It’s Only a Matter of Time
As previously stated, I wasn’t too keen on the show at first, but as it went on I got more and more into it. The same goes for the songs. “It’s Only a Matter of Time” (which also serves as the show’s theme) isn’t the greatest opening number of all time and Jennifer and Marty’s duet “Wherever We’re Going” slowed the plot down, and “Hello, Is Anybody Home?” is a pretty awful song but it does help set the scene for later events.
The songs improve considerably once we’re back in time with teenage George McFly’s creepy, peeping tom song, “My Myopia” and Doc’s “Future Boy”. With that said, my absolute favourite song in the whole show was surprising “Something About That Boy” which ends Act I. Needless to say, I enjoyed Act II’s songs a lot more, and don’t worry Back to the Future fans, Act II is where you’ll hear “Johnny B. Goode”, and “The Power of Love”.
Stage Effects
The musical has a mixture of sets including a small recreation of Doc’s garage where he creates most of his inventions. Although, the show utilises projections to its full extent, better than any other show I’ve seen outside of theme parks. Often a scrim is lowered to cover the entirety of the stage and actors behind the scrim perform specific actions choreographed with what the audience is seeing projected. This includes Doc running up a set of stairs, the climactic clock tower sequence, and whenever the DeLorean is used to travel through time. These projections are a little distracting at first, but once you get used to them, you can’t imagine how they could do it any other way without going massively over budget.
Back to the Future: The Musical is a faithful adaptation of the classic movie with brilliant acting and stage effects, as well as moments that will have you cringing but laughing throughout the magnificent production.
The musical is currently performing at the Adelphi Theatre in London and a second production will open on Broadway in 2023. For information on tickets, click here.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.