Interview: Mike Bindeman of BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL at Ohio Theatre

The challenges couldn’t be more different for actor Mike Bindeman. The actor went from playing laidback guitarist Gregg Allman during THE CHER SHOW to playing super geek George McFly in BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL.

The musical, which is based on the 1985 movie, visits here Jan. 6-11 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street in downtown Columbus).

“When I was doing my research for THE CHER SHOW, I learned Allman was kind of a quiet dude.” Bindeman said in a telephone interview from New Orleans. “In a Broadway musical, I can’t just stand there, playing a guitar. I needed to essentially play a rock star while keeping it (true to Allmann’s form).

“With George (played by Crispin Glover in the movie), I had a little bit of a blueprint. I want an audience to know I’m protecting the character they love but I also have more material to work with than Crispin had.”

Bindeman undergoes a character transformation during the show. He portrays George McFly as the timid father of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox doppelganger Lucas Hallauer) early in the musical. Then the audience sees how George ended up that way, after being bullied during his formative high school years.

The movie came out at least a decade before Bindeman was born, and yet the actor said he knew all the plot points and iconic images from the film “through cultural osmosis.”

“There's some specific mannerisms and vocal things (Glover) does in the movie that are really easy to interpret,” he said. “But obviously we’re not mimicking the characters exactly.

“In the second act, we get into some material that wasn't in the movie and you're going to see more of me as a performer.”

One of Bindeman’s favorite moments in the musical is the number “Put Your Mind to It.” During that scene, Marty teaches the high school version of his father how to dance.

The vignette gives Bindeman a chance to showcase his physical comedy skills. However, there’s much more going on in that scene than his character learning how to tango, foxtrot and waltz.

“(The uncomfortable steps) come a little easier to me because I’m 6-foot-3 and gangly,” Bindeman said with a chuckle. “Essentially, Marty’s teaching George how to dance, but also how to trust his instincts and not become somebody else’s idea of who he is.”

Believing in yourself is one of the lessons Bindeman learned on his BACK TO THE FUTURE journey. The actor auditioned three times for the role before finally being cast. Each time he advanced to the final round of callbacks. He first lost out to Burke Swanson (who is now playing in STRANGER THINGS on Broadway) and then to Evan Alexander Smith for the Broadway version.

“It’d be easy to question yourself, ‘Am I doing it right? Why didn’t I get the job?’” he said. “(Each audition) I had to walk in and be confident my version of George was good enough.

“There were 500 actors auditioning for one spot. Out of those people, there were 200-300 performers who could totally do it. I've worked hard for this and went to school for this, but I know I've also been enormously lucky.”

While the show is titled BACK TO THE FUTURE, the trip to Ohio is sort of a return to the past for Bindeman, who attended Baldwin Wallace. The summer before his senior year of high school, he did a program at the Berea school and was immediately sold on the university.  

He credits instructor Vicky Bussert and the college’s music theatre program for giving him the survival skills to make it in this business.

“Some schools can teach you how to become an incredible artist, but not what helps you succeed in the industry,” he said. “(Baldwin Wallace) concentrated on what you needed to know in order to make a living as a stage actor.”

Being  confident in your own skill set carries you far in this business, according to Bindeman.

“One of things most actors have to overcome is insecurity,” Bindeman said. “You have to say ‘Yes, I’m fully capable of doing this and I'm worthy of these jobs.’”

Columbus Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. 42ND STREET (Gahanna Lincoln Summer)

18.8% of votes

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11% of votes

3. NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 (Otterbein Theatre and Dance)

7.1% of votes

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