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.
The treatment of the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy — which premiered days before the pandemic shutdown during 2020 in England and on Broadway in 2023 — ticks off all the boxes that make for a winning musical of any kind, regardless of its source material. The songs — by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, save for those couple of Huey Lewis & the News hits from the film. The acting is on a high level, the choreography energetic. And, as an adaptation, it makes tweaks to the plot that are clever enough to make it work on stage but without losing any of the original, joyous and tongue-in-cheeky spirit of the movie.
Where the show tends to stall is during the long list of musical numbers, all performed well, but many feeling a bit unnecessary and unmemorable. It is certainly not due to a lack of creativity. This is not Grammy-winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard’s first rodeo. But it might be the fact that the story simply does not need 21 songs and four reprises to be “rad.” It just needs a strong cast, a script that every Gen Xer can quote from top to bottom and totally tubular special effects that appeal to the kid in all of us. And this production has all of the above.
| 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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