Review: 'Back to the Future' a Time-Traveling Musical Return to the 1950s

Providence Performing Arts Center closes its season with a bang – or, rather a bolt (of lightning) – in the form of a time-traveling musical based on a film from 1985.

"Back to the Future" is a successful film franchise that is truly a cultural phenomenon. It's the first of the three films in the series that forms the basis for this musical, and, believe me, it's a ride that you'll enjoy taking.

Alan Silvestri, who composed the instantly-recognizable score for all three films, provides the music and lyrics along with Glen Ballard; screenwriter Bob Gale wrote the book. As a result, much of what makes the film fun and engaging is on tap here.

Marty McFly (Lucas Hallauer) is in high school, and has a loving girlfriend, Jennifer (Sophia Yacap). His family, however are a bunch of misfits: Mom Lorraine (Zan Berube) is a drunk, brother Dave (Fisher Lane Stewart) is geek who works at a fast food chain, sister Linda (Katie Laduca) is a busybody, and his poor dad, George (Mike Bindeman), is so cringingly spineless that you just want to yell at him.

Marty's own prospects might not so great: He wants to be a rock star, but his principal calls him a "nobody" and "slacker." So, when Marty's pal, an inventor named Doc Brown (David Josefsberg), shows him his latest triumph – a time machine made out of a Delorean – he hatches a plan to "fix" his family by traveling to the past.

It's the same plot of the film with a few tweaks, but in the case of the stage musical it's much more comedy and spectacle. And yes, you are witnessing time travel in the best way: Marty goes back to 1955 to save his family (and Doc, too; if you know the movie, there's a key plot point that I won't spoil here), and the outfits and set pieces are spot-on.

The reason George is so spineless is that former classmate Biff Tannen (Nathaniel Hackman) has been bullying him since the '50s. Marty finds this out immediately upon arriving in the past; unfortunately for him, his future mom develops a crush on him in a very funny sequence lifted straight out of the screenplay. Lorraine's interest in Marty threatens to divert her from her fated pairing with George, which, ironically, would erase Marty from having ever existed. With everything leading to the possible erasure of Marty and his entire family, he's gotta fix the mess his time traveling has done.

Everything audiences loved from the movie is here: the iconic vehicle, the clock tower that's about to be destroyed by lightning, and the hysterically funny moments that everyone loved about Gale's screenplay. This cast knows what a funny story they have, and they bring their A-game to the flashy playground the stage becomes thanks to the design crew (Tim Lutkin and Hugh Canstone on lighting, Fin Ross overseeing the videos, Chris Fisher responsible for the projections, and Gareth Owen engineering the sound). The incidental music is familiar, too, but some of the musical numbers – and there are nearly two dozen of them – do drag at times; perhaps less of that would work better for this production.

But "Back to the Future" is fun, filled with moments that you loved about the film, and while the "new" musical numbers didn't leave me with anything really memorable, the film's songs like "Power of Love" and "Johnny B. Goode" are quite welcome because they are so much a part of the story line. Also, the special effects will surely thrill you; thankfully in 2025 we have the technology to make you believe a car can actually fly. Bring the family, and even if you are one of the few who've never seen the films, this show will satisfy a craving for spectacle.

"Back to the Future" is running through Sunday, June 15, at The Providence Performing Arts Center 220 Weybosset Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903. For information or tickets call 401-421-2787 or visit www.ppacri.org.