Review: BACK TO THE FUTURE MUSICAL ELECTRIFIES AT STRAZ CENTER at Straz Center

On stage at the Straz Center is Back to the Future: The Musical, a thunderbolt of theatrical spectacle that stunned from start to finish. Winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, four WhatsOnStage Awards, including Best New Musical, and the Broadway World Award for Best New Musical, is adapted for the stage by the iconic film’s creators Bob Gale (Back to the Future trilogy) and Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and directed by the Tony Award®-winner John Rando with original music by multi-Grammy® winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, the iconic story we thought we knew was not only resurrected, but it was supercharged. What unfolded wasn’t a nostalgic rehash, but a full-throttle reinvention powered by explosive performances, precision staging, and tech wizardry that bent time.

At the center of this was a cast whose voices could part clouds. Dwayne P. Mitchell as Mayor Goldie Wilson —yes, the role we never expected to steal the show—reached notes that soared like the DeLorean at 88 miles per hour. His high notes punched through the air with the kind of range that felt supernatural, earning audible gasps and rousing applause. This was no background politician. This was a powerhouse. Another superb voice belonged to Kiara Lee as Jennifer Parker, Marty McFly's girlfriend. Her performances of "Wherever We’re Going" and "It’s Only a Matter of Time (reprise)" highlighted her exceptional vocal talent.

Scene transitions, often the Achilles' heel of elaborate productions, were seamless. Sets morphed from 1985’s drab realism to the retro-futurism of 1955 with sleight-of-hand elegance, so fluid and artful that they became silent characters in the story. Every movement, spin of a diner booth, and tilt of Doc’s lab were intentional and immersive.

But the union of technological daring and actor-driven heart elevated this show into the stratosphere. The DeLorean didn’t just drive—it danced, it flew with Vegas-level spectacle. Lighting, projections, and sound cues merged like gears in Doc Brown’s imagination, creating a visual symphony that never overwhelmed but always enhanced. And within this dazzle, the actors stayed grounded, never losing the emotional truth beneath the high-voltage theatrics.

Lucas Hallauer embodied Marty McFly with such authenticity that he honored the legacy of Michael J. Fox brilliantly. Ethan Rogers as Biff Tannen was the perfect villain you love to hate, delivering a convincing performance that you wanted to see him get his comeuppance. Mike Bindeman’s portrayal of nerdy George McFly was slightly over-the-top with his exaggerated speech pattern, yet he still made us cheer for the underdog. Zan Berube charmed the audience as Lorraine Baines, Marty’s teenage mother, unknowingly with an infatuation for her own son.

I truly didn't know how the 1985 movie would translate into a live song and dance production, but Back to the Future: The Musical at the Straz wasn’t just a performance but a phenomenon. It was a collision of story, skill, and science fiction that made the impossible feel intimate. Great Scott, the audience is in for a wild ride.