'Back to the Future: The Musical' brings the blockbuster movie to futuristic life

Forty years ago this very day, a film for the ages opened in theaters. Starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, “Back to the Future” would go on to become the highest grossing film of 1985, earning nearly $400 million worldwide. With an engaging plot and irresistible humor, it’s become a modern classic.

And since any of your favorite movies could become a musical at any moment, it was only a matter of time for this one.

This week, Pittsburgh CLO presents the national tour of “Back to the Future: The Musical,” running through July 6 at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The show has lots going for it. Its book is by Bob Gale, who co-wrote the original film with its director Robert Zemeckis. The music was written by Alan Silvestri, who composed the movie’s score (and the memorable theme shows up several times throughout the show). And the lyrics were provided by Glen Ballard, a songwriter and music producer who’s brought the world many massive hit pop songs and albums.

The stage show mostly sticks to the familiar plot: For some reason, 17-year-old Marty McFly (Lucas Hallauer) is good friends with Doc Brown (David Josefsberg), an eccentric inventor who has successfully created a time machine (out of a DeLorean!). But when things go pear-shaped during an experiment with the time-car, Marty ends up transported back 30 years to 1955, where he has to find his way home with the help of a younger Doc Brown … and stop the negation of his very existence by playing matchmaker to his parents, Lorraine (Zan Berube) and George (Mike Bindeman).

Now, as someone who has seen “Back to the Future” enough times that I was mouthing movie lines along with the actors, I’ll note that any minor changes to the plot in screen-to-stage translation made sense and were integrated well. And the production brazenly refuses to shy away from the technically challenging story beats, instead making them pop onstage.

In fact, the special effects are the biggest reason to see “Back to the Future: The Musical.” Want to see a flying car? Dazzling lights and smoke effects? There is so much going on in this show that it has an “illusion designer” (Chris Fisher).

Lighting designers Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone ringed the stage with a futuristic array of lights and kept things atmospheric, from a bright 1950s diner to a space-age dream sequence to an ’80s rock performance. The backdrops by video designer Finn Ross do a lot of heavy lifting here too, especially when they show off that iconic Hill Valley clock tower. And sound designer Gareth Owen brought to life all the beeps and boops of 1980s science fiction.

Director John Rando clearly studied the movie closely, which was sometimes to the production’s credit and sometimes to its detriment. Choreographer Chris Bailey absolutely killed it, especially with several huge second act dance numbers.

Absolutely no one can equal the cast of the original “Back to the Future,” let’s just get that out of the way. It’s the issue with adapting movies into musicals: stage actors can’t escape being compared to immortal silver screen performances. Hallauer is a charming presence as Marty, and Josefsberg gave a surprisingly sweet and witty turn as Doc. The eclectic pair have a heartfelt friendship that forms the beating heart of the show. Bindeman gave George McFly the physical elasticity of a dorkier Jim Carrey, and Berube was a standout as Lorraine, really lending character to the 1950s doo-wop-style songs that her character sings in the first act.

The highlight of the show was Cartreze Tucker as Goldie Wilson and Marvin Berry (oh yeah, spoiler alert, they cut that whole “Marty McFly invents rock ‘n’ roll” thing). Tucker has the goods when it comes to stage presence and got some of the show’s most genuine laughs. Plus, he can hold a high note long enough to get the crowd cheering.

When it comes to the book and music, the first act can be rough at times, relying too much on quotable lines from the movie for laughs. But act two is promising from the very start, where Doc Brown has a dream sequence about traveling into the future complete with neon-colored lights and electronic music flourishes. All of the applause moments are there: George McFly punching out predatory bully Biff (a funny and formidable Nathaniel Hackmann); a lively rendition of “Earth Angel” at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance; even Doc dangling perilously from the clock tower in the midst of a thunderstorm.

Wednesday night’s performance did suffer an unexplained delay before the finale that had the audience puzzled and restless, but the last three scenes were worth the wait. And don’t worry, the show wraps with both of the Huey Lewis and the News classics from the movie, “The Power of Love” and (the underrated) “Back in Time.”

As far as movie musicals go? This one maybe doesn’t hit 88 mph. But with some catchy tunes, high-energy dancing and jaw-dropping visuals, it’s as enjoyable as a summer afternoon popcorn flick.

“Back to the Future: The Musical” runs through July 6 at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. For more tickets and information, visit pittsburghclo.org.