"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads,"
I’m old enough to have seen the final instalment of the Back to the Future trilogy at the cinema, and we’ve spent more than a dozen family movie nights working through the films and rewatching. Heck, the original was played on rotation when Striker was younger because he was obsessed, and when LEGO released the DeLorean, we had it on preorder. You could call us fans.
When news broke that Back to the Future: The Musical was making its way to Australia, we were beside ourselves. Great Scott! Our favourite movie had morphed into a live-action musical. You can’t get better than that.
Hill Valley Comes to Sydney!
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“All right. This is an oldie, but, uh... well, it's an oldie where I come from.”
Back to the Future is the very story that added the flux capacitor to our vocabulary and helped us learn the lyrics to Johnny B. Goode. We’re pinching ourselves that it is now a musical.
You know the story, right? Marty McFly suddenly finds himself, and his Calvin Kleins, transported back to 1955 Hill Valley in Doc Brown’s DeLorean, inadvertently changing the course of history. He’s tasked with righting the present, to escape the past and send himself … back to the future.
The Australian Cast
“Whoa, this is heavy”
We are stoked to reveal the Australian cast of Back to the Future: The Musical, with Tony Award-winner Roger Bart heading down under to reprise the iconic role of Doc Brown, whom he introduced to both the West End and Broadway.
Newcomer Axel Duffy will be taking on the role of Marty McFly—the time-travelling teen originally brought to life by the incredible Michael J. Fox. We last saw Duffy in our all-time favourite theatre production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, so we have no doubt he’ll step up and bring Marty to life. l
Bart and Duffy lead an outstanding cast, including Ashleigh Rubenach as Lorraine Baines, Ethan Jones as George McFly, and Javon King as Goldie Wilson. We’re so excited!
Is Back to the Future: The Musical Suitable for Kids?
Great Scott!
Striker and Sunshine have been attending theatre and musicals since they were quite young and enjoyed the excitement of the experience. However, we chose what we headed to carefully. It isn’t until you see Violet Beauregarde blow up on stage and your kid doesn’t even bat an eye that you know they can cope with almost any show.
We love musicals and theatre so much that we keep on top of the best kids shows in Sydney and make sure to get tickets early.
That being said, Back to the Future: The Musical is not a kids’ theatre show. It is a full-length, West End musical production running close to 3 hours in length with an intermission. It is recommended for families with young people aged 6 and up.
This production boasts flashing lights, strobe effects, smoke and haze, as well as pyrotechnics. How else can you recreate the “My name is Darth Vader. (heavy breathing) I am an extraterrestrial from the planet Vulcan!” scene, right?” (I mean, here’s hoping that barn scene is included.)
Back to the Future: The Musical also includes mature themes and language. You’ve seen the film. You know what to expect – I mean, his mother is trying to date him! There are some heavy themes to explain to your kids if it doesn’t go over their heads.
That being said, I want to take the whole family, including grandparents, too. The film is iconic, and bringing it to life on stage is epic.
Where and When Can We See Back to the Future: The Musical?
“I’m your density. I mean your destiny.”
Back to the Future: The Musical will premiere at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre. In my experience, The Lyric is quite accessible with plentiful parking, great food and good bathrooms (so important with kids). I also love that I can see the stage from every single seat, even if a tall person sits in front of me!
Tickets are on sale NOW for Back to the Future: The Musical, with the production heading on stage this September. Head to Ticketmaster to find the best date for you.
Kid Bucket List Review’s Back to the Future: The Musical
“I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it.”
We hope to provide our full review of Back to the Future: The Musical soon. We’ll let you know over on our Facebook and Instagram when it goes live.
This musical is one for the musical lovers (at 95 decibels), more than fans of the film. But we were honored to have Bob Gale on stage after the matinee yesterday.
If you’re worried that Alex Duffy can’t sound and move like a 1980s Michael J Fox, don’t be — and Roger Bart is thoroughly lovable in his interpretation of Doc Brown — if he came up with some of the ad-lib gags for his character’s script, then full credit to him. But this is a “you don’t need to see the movie” type of musical, where all the additions to the plot & dialogue are basic 1980s tropes or stage show standards … the spaceship scene after intermission makes me want to brush up my CV as a script editor. With so much to choose from, why add that? I have to ask if the musical should run for twice the length of the movie — I started the day thinking I would be later judging how 1.5 movies were abridged into 3 hours — but no. Logically this musical has to serve as the stage-show edition for the sequel movies, so that’s what I expected. It’s not a spoiler to advise you not to expect that.
The movies are rightly celebrated for some great pacing (unique for that era) and attention to detail, but this musical is filled with padding — and the only detail that ACTUALLY matters is that this is a rare franchise that people rewatch (and repurchase) over and over. Edits for a stage show are quite necessary, but there were 2 or 3 moments that were crying out — in pregnant pauses — for a little hint that the writers had seen just ONE of the sequels. I wasn’t expecting an update to the “Reagan” gag for the present day, but it would have been an absolute treat to see an “Old Biff” wander onto the 1955 set confused, turn 360 and just leave again, or a doppelgänger Marty behind shades, crawl around the car and break the fourth wall with a finger to his lips, hushing the audience. Or just give us the scene with the Doc talking to himself wiring up the lamp-pole … even if his “other” self was facing away from the stage, and voiced via pre-recording. Can you imagine the nervous laughter for a mistimed cue? This missed opportunity would have been memorable.
That being said, the clock tower scene was a technical masterpiece, and even eagle-eyes couldn’t deduce the way Roger Bart was moving across the sky. It really blurred the distinction between pure projected imagery and an actor standing in a hybrid projected image. But I would have enjoyed the whole show easily, if only one thing was changed: The music was painfully loud, with most songs sustaining 95 decibels, which is far higher than a movie theatre. Was this show set up by concert roadies? A few songs were fine at 75 decibels, like the George McFly song that came straight after the much louder Goldie Wilson song. The audience for this kind of show will be self-selecting if anybody who finds 95 decibels painful, is left a bit stunned walking out to the foyer. This isn’t a problem in cinemas or theatre plays, where loud volumes are brief.
I can recommend this show to frequent musical goers if they’re after something with a 1980s flavour. There’s no need for any familiarity with the movie or its ideas — you get it all explained to you — and it’s a decent romantic story.
Hi Christian,
Thanks os much for your thoughtful review. Ill take my Loops with me to reduce the sound during the songs!