Welcome to Hill Valley! Marty McFly is a rock 'n' roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling 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. Based on the beloved film of the same name, Back to the Future is directed by John Rando. Set your destination time, New York and get ready to make musical theater history.
The new musical import from London is built around the spectacle of that flying DeLorean; or at least, I imagine the show would be just another mediocre effort without the spectacular flying machine. The prop car, built by a company called Twins FX, turbocharges the audience at least four times, and deserves the waves of applause it garners. Which leads us, inevitably, to items of lesser importance like book, music, lyrics, et al. Gale, who wrote the screenplay with Robert Zemeckis (director of the original film and one of numerous coproducers of the musical), has done a respectable job of adapting it to the stage. All the film highlights seem to be here, which is to the good. As for the score by Alan Silvestri (composer of the film) and Glen Ballard (composer/lyricist of that excessively bland Ghost musical that visited the Lunt in 2012), let’s just say that it gets by; this is one of those shows with the music so brutally amplified as to make the words often impossible to comprehend.
So, in summary: a gifted cast with thankless roles, a hokey book that takes no chances, and an abysmal score that drags everything down. All that’s left is spectacle. And let’s be honest; the car is the star. Designed by Tim Hatley, lit by Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone, and given bleeps, bloops and sonic booms by Gareth Owen, the automotive time machine zooms to 88 mph through elaborate video front and rear projections created by Finn Ross with “illusion” effects by Chris Fisher. Looks fairly cool the first time, somewhat lame the second. For an encore, hearkening back to 2005’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the airborne contraption noses over the orchestra. Every generation gets the Broadway eye-candy it deserves: in the ’80s it was the chandelier; in the ’90s, the Circle of Life; in the early aughts a witch levitating on a broomstick. We get a 38-year-old gullwing DeLorean on a turntable.
Rush Tickets:
Price: $40
Where: Rush tickets will be available every day when the Winter Garden Theatre box office opens, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Limit: Two per customer.
Restrictions: Seat locations and the number of tickets available are subject to availability and determined at the discretion of the box office.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $45
Where: https://rush.telecharge.com/
When: The digital lottery opens at 12AM ET one day before the performance and winners are drawn at 10AM ET and 3PM ET that same day.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Tickets are non-transferable and subject to availability.
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 |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | Roger Bart |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical | Casey Likes |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Tim Lutkin |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Sound Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Gareth Owen |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Video/Projections (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Finn Ross |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Roger Bart |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Tim Hatley |
Videos