‘Back to the Future’: The Time-Travel Musical

CHICAGO—Once upon a time, successful Broadway musicals were made into movies that often improved upon the original stage productions. “West Side Story” (1961), “The Music Man” (1962), “My Fair Lady” (1964), “The Sound of Music” (1965), “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971), and “Cabaret” (1972) all started out as musicals. Now that process has been reversed.
Popular movies are now being adapted into theatrical musicals—a transformation that doesn’t always improve on the original. Such is the case with “Back to the Future,” the musical adaptation of the beloved film. The musical opened in London in 2021, and is now part of an American tour that’s arrived at the Cadillac Palace in Chicago.
For those who’ve never seen the fantastic film, the musical might encourage viewing it. And, those movie’s fans who can’t get enough time traveling will get a kick out of the show’s special effects, staging, comic moments, and the thrill of re-living 1980s’ nostalgia.
Like the silver screen classic, the theatrical production has the same wonderful stuff of science-fiction. At its heart is the question of whether we can change the universe, events, or the future consequences of our actions. As the eccentric inventor, Doc Brown, says, it could be dangerous to fool around with the space-time continuum.
The show begins when Doc Brown asks teenager Marty McFly to meet him in the mall parking lot.  That’s where he unveils a time-travel machine he’s created from a DeLorean automobile. It’s powered by radioactive plutonium, which he stole from Libyan terrorists. Because of these terrorists, Marty ends up speeding in the DeLorean and traveling 30 years back in time: from 1985 to 1955. There, he unintentionally meets his parents as high school students. His existence and those of his family are in jeopardy. In order to guarantee everyone’s future, he has to help two very important teenagers fall in love.
Although the show features four songs from the film, including “The Power of Love,” the original musical score by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard isn’t memorable. But there’s a lot of illusion and technical gimmicks that make up for it that are fun to watch.
Because of choreographer Chris Bailey’s efforts, the scene when Marty grabs a guitar and plays “Johnny B. Goode,” encouraging the school teens into a Rock n’ Roll dance frenzy, is one of the delicious highlights of the show.
Most importantly is the show’s terrific casting. Caden Brauch does a superb job of playing Marty as a you-can-do-anything-you-set-your-mind-to teenager. Don Stephenson, who channels Christopher Lloyd with amazing childlike wonder, is hilarious as Doc Brown, especially in the scene in which he realizes that he has finally invented something, yelling out “It works! It works! It works!”
In addition, Burke Swanson is sensational as Marty’s spineless dad George McFly, Zan Berube is convincing as Marty’s mom Lorraine, and Ethan Rogers is perfect as the obnoxious school bully Biff Tannen.
It’s not as perfect as the movie, but this “Back to the Future” provides wonderful entertainment. It provides a positive and uplifting look at the possibilities of the future, and that’s a timely reminder. It’s the end of summer, and seeing this show may be a great way to cap off the season.