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.
Caden Brauch makes a sturdy Marty. He's a fine comic actor and triple threat who should just keep fine-tuning his duckwalk in order to make it really goode, if you know what I'm sayin'. Don Stephenson's Doc is sensational. He underplays like an old vaudevillian, and he has mastered the very hard art of throwing lines and bits away. (Best one: When Marty asks him who the girls are who suddenly arrive to sing and dance behind their number, Doc shrugs, "They just show up when I start singing.") He's got the three best songs in the show (Music and Lyrics by Alan Silvestri, who wrote the scores for all three BTTF films, and Glen Ballard): "It Works," (the DeLorean, of course), "21st Century," in which Doc dreams what he might see in the future--The Doctor would like that Doc dreams of The Tardis, and a lovely ballad "For the Dreamers," sung with mostly solo piano which provides some Act II auditory respite from the onslaught of the overly loud rest of the show. And Stephenson never never never pretends that he's Christopher Lloyd; Doc belongs to him, and a good time is had by all.
OK, so the music is a disaster and the effects, while flashy, didn’t always work. What of the performers? Brauch is fine. In fact, he’s better than fine with a great voice and moves and tons of stage presence. He commands the stage and leads the show well. But so many of the others, especially Stephenson and Swanson, are doing such campy, broad, overdone impressions of the characters in the movie, that the jokes were no longer funny, just embarrassing. And how much do we need to pander to the audience? Let’s make them cheer by having an opening projection showing the current date and the town we’re in (in case you forgot) or by having local references (Marty: “What are you looking at George?” George: “Hawks. See? Hawks.” Get it? Seahawks?). Again, super thirsty.
2021 | West End |
West End Premiere West End |
2021 | West End |
West End |
2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2024 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
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