Back To The Future previews

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 6/21/23 at 2:23pm

I think that previews start in a couple of weeks. Anyone going to one of the early ones? I watched the video teaser for the show and it definitely looked as if it could be a lot of fun. From what I've heard, it's very technology heavy, so I'm wondering if they'll have it all worked out for the first week or two of previews. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/21/23 at 2:31pm

It starts next Friday, Im very excited. Tickets were so expensive but with the promo code, it wasn't so bad. Looks so fun! 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 6/21/23 at 3:14pm

I just saw this in London last weekend! Believe me, Broadway is not ready for this musical! It was just a fantastic show! I definitely will be seeing this in NYC once I’m back! I definitely wanna see Roger and Hugh, not to mention Casey as Marty! This show is gonna be running for a long time! 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 6/21/23 at 3:25pm

Going to the first preview. Back to the Future is my favorite movie, so I have to wrap my head around that fact that this isn’t Michael J Fox or Christopher Lloyd, but I’m hoping it’s a good time. 

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 6/21/23 at 3:42pm

I love the movie and I am curious to see how it’s turned into a musical…and a bit worried! 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 6/21/23 at 4:41pm

Good Luck.  Saw this in London last August and it was dreadful.  Songs were unmemorable except the 2 from the movie.  The actor who played the father, who's coming over to do it on Bway was good but the rest of the show wasn't.  I wish I had a time machine to go back and make myself not see this disaster.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 8:23am

I am so excited to hear about how Casey is as Marty. 

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 8:30am

BuddyStarr said: "Good Luck. Saw this in London last August and it was dreadful. Songs were unmemorable except the 2 from the movie. The actor who played the father, who's coming over to do it on Bway was good but the rest of the show wasn't. I wish I had a time machine to go back and make myself not see this disaster."

A few of my friends said the same thing, a complete disaster. I'll keep an open mind and go and see it whenever I get the chance on Broadway, but my thoughts are that not every movie needs to be adapted into a musical. But that's just my opinion

[flord10]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 9:45am

Going to the first preview as well. Can’t wait! Been excited for this one for a while.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 1:22pm

pablitonizer said: "BuddyStarr said: "Good Luck. Saw this in London last August and it was dreadful. Songs were unmemorable except the 2 from the movie. The actor who played the father, who's coming over to do it on Bway was good but the rest of the show wasn't. I wish I had a time machine to go back and make myself not see this disaster."

A few of my friends said the same thing, a complete disaster. I'll keep an open mind and go and see it whenever I get the chance on Broadway, but my thoughts are that not every movie needs to be adapted into a musical. But that's just my opinion"

I completely agree that not every movie needs to be a musical AND vice versa, but I do hope you'll go in with your own opinion, and your own thoughts rather than judging based off of what your friends said. 

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 3:56pm

I truly hate the new trend of every single movie ever being made into a musical, mostly because they're just not good imo. Mean Girls, Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, etc, have all disappointed me of late. That being said, I did love Groundhog Day and am interested to see how this turns out.

I'll be in NYC for a week in July and I'm wondering if it's worth it to try and see it on a Monday night when not much else is playing.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 5:48pm

I think it depends on the creative process. "A Band's Visit" was a movie before a musical, but clearly it was a passion project for the creatives. "Tootsie" seemed like a for hire gig. Hence the outcome. 

Same with "Groundhog Day." Seemed like a passion project so therefore we got something intererstingi out of it. 

[DaveyG]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 5:58pm

RippedMan said: "I think it depends on the creative process. "A Band's Visit" was a movie before a musical, but clearly it was a passion project for the creatives. "Tootsie" seemed like a for hire gig. Hence the outcome.

I will always be baffled and fascinated by the critical and theatrical community’s embrace of “Tootsie” through the Tonys and then it’s like everyone got buyer’s remorse and started hating it. 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 6:02pm

I thought the physical production was very cheap looking. And the lead performance was fine, but something I think a lot of leading men could do. But for me, having not seen the movie, I just thought the story was really stupid. Like he takes a part away from a woman and then falls in love and we're suppose to want that? But I thought the score was fun. I think it just hit at a weird time. I would have thought "Doubtfire" would have been a runaway hit. So who knows.

[flord10]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 6:03pm

Back to the Future is an interesting case. It certainly seems like the aim of the creatives was to recreate the movie on stage, but at the same time, Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis are extremely protective of the BTTF brand, and have constantly rejected and proposal to do a 4th film or reboot of the series (which would certainly be an easier and safer way to make a quick buck). The fact that they are fully on board with a musical, but won’t allow any other continuations of the franchise definitely interests me from a creative perspective.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 6:04pm

Well a lot of these aren’t artist-conceived projects- the studios make them happen to capitalize on their IPs now, and hire writers accordingly. It’s not a new practice - I believe this is how Ragtime came about, more or less- but it’s happening on larger scale. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 6:10pm

With every show you're going to have a certain number of people involved who are passionate about it and believe in it. Nobody sets out to create a bad show, and everyone involved is rooting for its success.

There's just so much iconography attached to this movie that can make a stage musical feel more like a theme park attraction than a first-class Broadway show, and I know from London that they lean into a lot of it (including playing the score as the overture). Can this show stand on its own, separate from the iconography of the movie? Maybe, but I have doubts. We'll see what happens.

With this show, the authors also give me pause: all 3 authors are primarily of the film or pop music world (Bob Gale, Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard), and you have a director (John Rando) with a verrrrry spotty track record who also knows that he needs to lean into a certain amount of iconography (hence why sometimes these shows can feel like a "work for hire" job).

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 6:28pm

Is this a great musical? No.

Is the music memorable? No.

Is it entertaining? Yes.

Is it all nostalgia and lighting and stage craft? Yes.

If you are going in expecting a great musical, you will be disappointed, if you are going for a night of fun and spectacle, then that's what you will get. 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 6:40pm

I know "every single movie ever" is hyperbole, but let's get real.  Hundreds of movies are released every year.  hardly any of them ever become the basis of plays or musicals.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/187122/movie-releases-in-north-america-since-2001/

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 7:09pm

If you are going in expecting a great musical, you will be disappointed, if you are going for a night of fun and spectacle, then that's what you will get. 

People are going to see the movie on stage. It needs to elevate the material in the film, or it's DOA (what's good Almost Famous/Doubtfire/Tootsie)?

 

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 8:06pm

Saw it in London.  It was...  A theme park show on steroids.

Forgettable music.  The car effect at the end is what you remember.

Perhaps it's indicative of what works now on Broadway.  We shall see.

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 8:08pm

Leaf Coneybear said: "I truly hate the new trend of every single movie ever being made into a musical, mostly because they're just not good imo. Mean Girls, Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, etc, have all disappointed me of late. That being said, I did love Groundhog Day and am interested to see how this turns out.

I'll be in NYC for a week in July and I'm wondering if it's worth it to try and see it on a Monday night when not much else is playing."

Oh love, we've had movies from the last millennium turned into musicals for decades now. Nothing new, and the vast majority flop.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 8:20pm

I definitely would NOT consider TOOTSIE a musical adaptation of the Oscar winning 1982 film as it truly had zero semblance to the film aside from using the character’s names. The timeline was different, the plot was different, nothing from the film was present on that stage. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 9:32pm

flord10 said: "Back to the Future is an interesting case. It certainly seems like the aim of the creatives was to recreate the movie on stage, but at the same time, Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis are extremely protective of the BTTF brand, and have constantly rejected and proposal to do a 4th film or reboot of the series (which would certainly be an easier and safer way to make a quick buck). The fact that they are fully on board with a musical, but won’t allow any other continuations of the franchise definitely interests me from a creative perspective."

I believe some of this is out of their respect for Michael J. Fox, who they view indispensable to the film franchise.

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 10:09pm

Oh love, we've had movies from the last millennium turned into musicals for decades now. Nothing new, and the vast majority flop."

Very fair! As I said, many of these I do actually enjoy. Someone made the point that Ragtime is technically an adaption as well as and I adore it. I guess it just seems like more and more of these shows that are just there to make money and not to actually do something with the material. Like, what is Back to the Future or Tootsie or Mrs. Doubtfire or Almost Famous doing to make a statement about the original or elevate it on some level? Why do we need to hear these stories with song, on stage?

Although I guess that could be said about anything: Why did Les Miserables need to be sung? Wicked? Maybe I'm just a hater because it's a movie. Either way, interested to see where this goes.