Interview: Lucas Hallauer Feels The Power of Love in BACK TO THE FUTURE

Actor, singer, and dancer Lucas Hallauer says he has always been a fan of time travel, so when he saw a film about the subject as a child, it got his attention right away.

“My dad loves movies and when I was in elementary school, he sat my sisters, Maggie and Kelly, and me down and showed us a bunch of classic 1980s movies. When we watched “Back to the Future,” I knew immediately that I really liked it,” explained Hallauer – who is playing teenager Marty McFly in the stage musical adaptation of the movie – by telephone recently. Now on North American tour, Broadway in Boston will present the show at Citizens Opera House, July 8–20.

The hit 1985 Robert Zemeckis film starred Michael J. Fox as the high schooler accidentally transported back to 1955 in a 1.21 giggawat DeLorean custom-built by his eccentric scientist friend, Emmett “Doc” Brown. On his unplanned visit to the past, McFly unintentionally stops his future parents from falling in love so then must reunite them in order to ensure his own future existence.

“My own parents are very different from George McFly and Lorraine Baines. But Marty doesn’t always relate to his parents, and I think the message is that if you ‘walk a day in their shoes,’ you will come to understand other people,” says the performer. “The other throughline is Marty’s friendship with Doc. It is an emotional connection, too, and Marty would do anything to save Doc.”

Based on the film, “Back to the Future: The Musical” features a book by Bob Gale, new music and lyrics by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard, with additional songs from the film including “The Power of Love,” “Back in Time” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Gale co-created and co-wrote the “Back to the Future” film trilogy, and Silvestri composed the score for the films. The Broadway production opened August 3, 2023, at the Winter Garden Theatre where it ran for more than 500 performances. The show has been running for four years in London’s West End, where it has been seen by more than 1,600,000 people.

“I saw the show on Broadway and right away it spoke to me,” says Hallauer, who first joined the North American tour as an understudy. “Marty was a role I really connected with and wanted to play. And when I got the offer by email to join the tour, my parents were the first people I called.”

Born in New Orleans, Hallauer moved to Virginia and graduated in 2023 from Coastal Carolina University, where he earned his BFA in Musical Theater. After appearing in college and community theater productions, his first big break came when he was cast in the North American tour of “Mean Girls.”

Hallauer acknowledges that playing Marty McFly in “Back to the Future: The Musical” is certain to remind some audience members of what beloved film and television actor Fox brought to the part.

“This is such an iconic role, and one, of course, that is very much associated with Fox,” says Hallauer. “Our director, John Rando, however, has given me the freedom to develop my own character, making my own choices as to how to play Marty. I think anyone who sees me in the role, though, will know that I’m honoring Michael J. Fox’s legacy.”

He will at the same time be performing songs written for the film’s soundtrack – including an Academy Award for Best Original Song nominee that became the first number-one hit for Huey Lewis and the News.

“I sang ‘The Power of Love’ at my audition,” recalls Hallauer. “It’s my favorite song from the show because it makes me feel like a rock star. I get a mic and a mic stand and I live my fantasy every night in that number.”