REVIEW: BACK TO THE FUTURE THE MUSICAL @ MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE

There were a few raised eyebrows when it was announced that one of the most celebrated movie franchises of the 1980s – Back To The Future – was coming to the stage as a musical. Not least because science fiction on stage is notoriously difficult to realise. The creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis have steadfastly refused permission for the film saga to have a fourth sequel or indeed for a reboot. So it is perhaps a surprise that they have relented and let Marty McFly loose on stage. However it is to our gain that they have not gone for the quick dollar, and supervised every stage of the transition to the theatre ensuring that the quality of the movies is reflected in the production values of its theatre spin-off. Original movie composer Alan Silvestri is onboard as is award winning composer Glen Ballard to write the score of mostly brand new songs.

The stage show follows pretty closely the plot of the original 1985 movie. There are one or two changes here and there – obviously Iranian terrorists are not a good idea in 2020 – but by and large the show is a fleshing out of the original various set pieces. What is immediately impressive from the very start is the high tech set, which grabs the attention from the minute you walk into the auditorium with its projections and lighting. This sets the tone for what is a visual feast for the next three hours. You won’t find spoilers in this review revealing how the DeLorean reaches 88 m.p.h. live on stage, or how the Doc manages to get to the top of the clock tower to make sure the lightning is harnessed to power time travel. But throughout there is sustained applause and gasps as the illusions of Chris Fisher are married with the ingenious set designs of Tim Hatley and the lighting of Hugh Vanstone and Tim Lutkin. And just when you think the show has thrown everything at you and has no more to give, the last few moments go for broke and give the audience it’s biggest surprise...

The score itself is very foot tapping friendly, the most catchy number ‘Put Your Mind To It’ might even find a home outside the show (expect Michael Ball to have an ill advised bash) and a mixture of styles from soft rock to 1950s pastiches manage to keep the show bouncing along. But in a venture of this nature where the characters are so clearly defined on screen the real success is down to how successfully the actors can conjure up the icons. A piece of key casting is Olly Dobson. He captures the spirit of freewheeling teenager Marty McFly perfectly from his first entrance, and he works his socks off. Dobson is hardly ever off the stage, and he sings like a angel rocker too. Roger Bart equally becomes scientist Doc Emmett Brown effortlessly, not giving an impression of Christopher Lloyd but channelling just enough to make Doc recognisable whilst still making sure he gives his own take on the character in this new medium. Naturally both actors get the lions share of the laughs as their characters did in the movie, but they are closely followed by Hugh Coles as nerdy wimp George McFly. His underdog is a big favourite with the audience from first entrance and every awkward dance move and shy advance keeps him on a winning streak throughout. Cedric Neal as future Mayor Goldie Wilson is another cast member to get a big number and he makes the most of his moment to shine with some stylish vocals, whilst Rosanna Hyland flutters her eyelashes and becomes the love struck Lorraine Baines with ease, displaying a wonderful pop voice along the way. Marty McFly always needs an enemy and in this case it is of course Biff Tannen, and the character is there large as life and twice as ugly in the form of Aidan Cutler in a performance that always hits the right note. The twenty five strong cast all work their butts off throughout the show to bring Hill Valley alive in both decades. So too the fourteen strong band who provide the big sounds of the night, there is nothing like a full band rocking a theatre and these boys and girls do it in spades.

Director John Rando has provided a spectacular show which will delight not only hardcore fans of the 1985 original but also anybody who likes live entertainment. The first act is a little overlong, and I could easily see where twenty minutes could be chopped off without affecting the show at all, but these are minor quibbles. The sheer energy and audacity of the show overwhelms any of this. The audience I was with were obviously not regular theatre goers, most seemed like they were on a visit to a theme park judging by the amount of drinks and confectionary that were being brought into the auditorium, but this can only be a good thing for theatre as whole. If Back To The Future is a way of encouraging and engaging with an audience more used to on demand services, then all the better. It could be instrumental in developing theatre audiences. There is little doubt in my mind that the immediate future for this show is the West End, Broadway and theatres around the world. The End.

INFORMATION ON THE MUSICAL CAN BE FOUND AT THE OFFICAL WEBSITE