When I first heard that Back to the Future was being adapted into a Broadway musical, I was both curious and skeptical.
How do you take a beloved classic like this iconic ’80s film and turn it into a musical stage production? My wife and I decided to see for ourselves over the weekend, and, well… it was really freakin’ weird.
From the opening moments of the play, it was clear that this was going to be a strange ride and it wasn’t going to be a completely faithful retelling of the movie we all know and love.
Major parts of the story were changed, and it started with Doc Brown’s fate as he doesn’t get shot by terrorists in the musical. Instead, he succumbs to radiation poisoning from the plutonium he uses to power the DeLorean. It’s a strange, somber shift for such an energetic character.
And the ending? The movie’s finale is replaced by a baffling “George McFly Day,” celebrating Marty’s father’s newfound confidence as a famous author.
Oh, and let’s not forget the part where Marty touches his mom’s boob. Yes, you read that right. Lorraine, Marty’s mom, is far more aggressive in pursuing him in the play than in the movie.
That said, there were some genuinely cool moments in the production. The effects used for the DeLorean and the time-travel sequences were impressive and inventive.
The staging and special effects team clearly worked hard to make these scenes dynamic and fun. It’s just a shame the rest of the production didn’t live up to the same level of creativity.
And then there’s the music. Oh, the music. As someone who grew up with a dad deeply involved in musical theater, I’d like to think I developed a good ear for good music, and the music in Back to the Future: The Musical was rough. There was maybe one decent song, but even that one was forgettable.
None of the original movie’s charm or energy translated into the musical numbers, which were bland at best and cringe-worthy at worst.
Another issue was the tone. Everything about the musical felt overly cartoonish, as if the production couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a spoof or a sincere adaptation. The result was a bizarre mix of slapstick humor, over-the-top acting, and awkward storytelling that never quite clicked.
In the end, the show left me feeling that just because you can adapt a classic movie into a musical doesn’t mean you should. The original Back to the Future is a masterclass in storytelling, pacing, and character development—qualities the musical struggles to capture.
For fans of the film, it might be worth seeing purely out of curiosity, but don’t expect to leave the theater feeling like you’ve traveled back to the future.
You’ll more likely leave scratching your head and wondering, “What did I just watch?”
