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[0:00] ♪ Musical number: "That Boy" — performed by the cast ♪

[0:44] Jesse McAnally: Hello and welcome to another extra special episode of Theatre in the D, I'm Jesse McAnally.

[0:49] Miranda Boppett: And I'm Miranda Boppett.

[0:51] Jesse McAnally: And this week we were invited by Broadway in Detroit to see the special effects extravaganza.

[0:57] Miranda Boppett: Yes, yes, we have.

[0:59] Jesse McAnally: This is, we talk a lot about movie adaptations. That's just the nature of theater at this moment, especially like mainstream theater. We had Beauty and the Beast, we've done Pretty Woman, a lot of things like that. As far as those go, I think this is the one where the VFX, the cast and crew were all doing their best to try to entertain us the entire time. That was their goal. And my God, that audience loved it. What about you? What are your thoughts, Miranda?

[1:31] Miranda Boppett: Well, thank you for asking. Yes, I generally enjoy Back to the Future. I wouldn't say it's like a part of my childhood or a core piece of my psyche or anything. But I'm a casual observer and enjoyer. And I think as far as an adaptation from screen to stage, I think this was very successful. I'll be honest, I was a little bit concerned with the first number in the show. It's a very theater-y theater song, a la something like Legally Blonde or Mean Girls.

[1:59] Jesse McAnally: They're coming at you. They're coming for you.

[2:02] Miranda Boppett: Very theater-y sounding songs. It's like a specific quality that you just, you can't put your finger on exactly what makes it that quality, but when you hear it, you know it. So the very first number had me a little bit concerned. Past that number, it was, you know, I really enjoyed the show by the time that we hit intermission. I almost called it halftime, like this is some kind of sport game. By the time we reached intermission, I was like, wow, that really flew by. That's kind of the sign that you've actually truly been enjoying something, in my mind, is when the time sort of flies and you don't realize how fast things are going. So I really enjoyed it.

[2:44] Jesse McAnally: We famously talk mad shit about this musical on Musicals with Cheese a couple of years ago, but I'm pretty sure someone from their press and PR group wrote a very angry letter to us. That being said, in response to that, so many people are like, yeah, but you gotta see it live. You have to experience this live, and it does heighten your enjoyment of it a lot.

[3:06] Miranda Boppett: We talked last time when we covered Beauty and the Beast that I don't love projections alone as in replace of sets. I think this had some of the best sets mixed with projections to create something in a three-dimensional image that I've ever seen. Truly, the integration was flawless. It reminds me a lot of, not to pull from another Back to the Future-related property, but the Universal Studios rides you would see there where they mix things like that to create a three-dimensional effect. It truly felt like riding the movie, if that makes sense.

[3:41] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, I would agree. I think it's up there, not as impressive, but definitely up there with the effects from seeing Beetlejuice on Broadway a few years ago, where that very first effect where the car shows up on the stage is really like a jump scare. You absolutely have no clue how on earth that thing got into that place while you weren't looking. Yeah, the effects were really spectacular, like the car flying over the stage and over the audience in some ways. I think generally, if you're going to just have all AI backgrounds for everything, that's never a good thing, but this was definitely a good mix of the practical elements, practical visual effects, and the screens to create a specific experience, specifically a feeling like you're watching the car driving down a road through a town.

It was very impressive overall. I can understand why somebody who had only heard the soundtrack itself to the musical or the album to the musical wouldn't think that this would be particularly enjoyable, because I will say the songs themselves are not Wicked or a Sondheim musical. The songs don't necessarily speak for themselves, if that makes sense, but seeing them in context with the performances, with the visual effects, it all kind of works together really well to make something that's very enjoyable.

[5:09] Miranda Boppett: I agree, and there were some things that I liked a lot more this time taking it in. I really enjoyed the 50s pastiche numbers throughout. I feel like that's something I don't hear on Broadway very often, is fun doo-wop numbers and fun throwbacks to Be My Baby and all that. Not to spoil favorites or anything, but in my original episode I said that something about That Boy was my favorite song, and re-watching this musical again, yeah, that still stands. That song is a banger and probably my favorite moment in the entire show.

[5:44] Jesse McAnally: No, it's good, and Jessie warned me ahead of time that they kind of lean into the weird incest plotline with the mom and Marty, which I haven't seen a movie in a while. Is it more represented in this version?

[6:00] Miranda Boppett: Not more represented, but he never touches her breast, or there's not the will-they-won't-they wonderful life scene with the blanket and all that. She is much more overtly sexualized and wanting to have sex in a direct way in the musical, where it's much more done in long, lingering looks in the movie. So it is a little jarring, like, oh, we're really leaning into, like, wanna-fuck-my-son vibes here. Weirdly enough, it just comes off as funny and entertaining. It is definitely disturbing. I think it's meant to be disturbing, like, that's part of the humor. But it's, you know, it's not overly disgusting, and it's pretty comedic in context. I think I enjoyed it a lot overall, but one thing that kind of struck me as strange that I thought about a lot while we were watching this is that the character of Marty McFly in the musical spends a lot of time just, like, watching people do things.

Like, he's got, you know, he's the main character, and he's obviously got the bulk of, like, the singing and the lines and sort of the plot devices. But, I mean, a lot of the musical, he is just sort of, like, watching people do things kind of off on the sidelines, which is a little bit weird. That's not something that you see a lot. Like, I remember just seeing him in the background getting to sit down on the bench while he watched everybody else, like, dance and sing, and he's like, Oh, nice. Get to take a little break back here. So that was, you know, that was a little something.

[7:27] Miranda Boppett: Something that also, you know, this is not just specifically with the musical, but, like, with the Back to the Future property in general that I find interesting is that, you know, different media has different takes on sort of, like, what time travel would look like, and Back to the Future's take is very much in the camp of, like, yeah, if you go back to the future and you do things, you can mess things up in the future. You can go back and change things, whereas some other, you know, things will look at it as, well, everything was meant to happen that way, and you'll see that everything falls into place, and everything, like, going back into the past is what made the future happen in the first place, and it's all just, like, a big circle.

So there are elements of the Back to the Future property that are, like, in the first camp very much so that you can change things when you go back, but there are some things that are, like, you know, the mayor always being the mayor. I forget what the character's name is.

[8:12] Jesse McAnally: Goldie Wilson!

[8:13] Miranda Boppett: Yes, Goldie Wilson. We're like, Goldie Wilson is always the mayor, you know, like, he's the mayor in the future before Marty goes back in time, and then he's still the mayor when he comes back. So, like, there's some elements of a little bit of both, I think, but mostly it's in the camp of, like, yeah, you can go back and really mess shit up. The running joke in Back to the Future is there are only three constants. One, that clock tower will never work. Two, Lorraine's brother will always be in prison, and three, Goldie Wilson will be mayor. Goldie Wilson is another highlight in this, where on paper you would not think to give that character his own musical number, but my god, that is, like, it feels like a song from another musical, like, in its interpretation.

I also do want to highlight here, the dancers and ensemble in this show are used so effectively and so well. They are all so extremely talented that it's almost distracting to watch the lead players walk off stage so that they can enjoy the time. I noticed during Johnny B. Goode that I just saw George and Lorraine run off stage so the ensemble can enjoy their, like, choreographed numbers, and they were really, really good, and really get a chance to shine, and I got to pick, like, favorites and all that, and I love a well-used ensemble. I thought that was great.

[9:32] Jesse McAnally: No, I noticed the same thing, and that's why I brought up the thing about Marty just starting to get, like, sit back and relax for a lot of it, because sometimes the ensemble will come on, and they will, like, they'll dance with the main players, and they're, like, sort of a part of the bigger picture, but sometimes the ensemble members are, like, the main focal point, and that's what you're focused on, and then the big players just sort of, like, get to walk off, or waltz off, or just sort of watch it from the background, which, like, doesn't usually happen. Usually the leads have to be involved in everything that happens on the stage, which sounds exhausting.

[10:02] Jesse McAnally: There is a tightrope to walk when adapting a very well-known film like Back to the Future to stage, which is these line reads have become so iconic in their own right, and so distinct, like, you cannot hear It Works without thinking of Christopher Lloyd.

[10:19] Andrew: This is heavy without thinking of Michael J. Fox.

[10:49] Jess: It could have been very easy to do that.

[11:20] Andrew: And I don't think I was bored at all the whole show, which is like, you know, a gold star for me, because I think every show has moments that lag. But I really did enjoy the whole show and had a really good time. I think the humor really hit. I think the actors did an amazing job. Yeah, I just think overall, it was a very good adaptation and a very impressive thing to watch.

[11:42] Andrew: I still want to stand by a lot of things I said in my original episode. If you listen to that, I still feel that. Specifically, I would have been much more interested in taking this property and doing something completely new with it, like starting in 2025 and then going back to, you know, 1995 or something. This is a property ripe for reinterpreting and doing interesting things with. And while I had a good time, I do have a little bit of like, as a whole, like, oh, that could have been interesting. But as far as a recreation of the film as a stage musical, yeah, they did about it as well as someone ought to. But I still wonder what that could have been like with a different point of view.

[12:27] Andrew: As far as this specific production, I wanted to highlight, there were a few flubs that were kind of fun and added to the overall, like, I love seeing little staging mistakes that make you a little reminder that you're live. Like Barty once flubbed a line by saying, you're going to punch Lorraine in the stomach, punch me in the stomach. And that was lovely. It made me smile. And then there was an audio cue mixed up with the Johnny B. Goode, like, rock and roll. And the actor just pulled it off so well. And I love stuff like that. And that's the reason why live theater is so magical to me. So I had some great experiences there.

[13:04] Andrew: What I recommended to, see, here's the thing. I don't know if I could recommend it to people that don't know Back to the Future. Like, I would be very curious to see someone that knows nothing about this property watching this musical because it really does feel like a thing for diehard fans. Like it's definitely got those pieces where it's like, hey, hey, you remember this? We're about to do the thing. And then sometimes they swerve on you and do something else. I did notice they cut a lot of the swearing out. Like the more intense big boy swearing, like they kept all the dams where they cut all the shits. I did notice that their choice swear word was only damn. I'm pretty sure they only said damn and there was maybe one shit in the mix somewhere, which I thought was kind of funny. Very 1950s of them to do that.

[13:42] Jess: I do want to say, I would disagree that people who have never seen the movie couldn't enjoy the show and or follow it. And I would also be interested to know if someone who'd never seen the movie would understand what was going on. But I think it is a pretty faithful adaptation of the film. So I think it would be very easy to follow. And while I understand your desire for them to do something different with the property, I do not think that a musical is the place to do it because musicals are already more of a difficult medium to portray a story across, at least in my opinion. It's not like a movie or a television show where the audio is always clear and the visuals are always clear and you can always hear what's going on and see what's going on very well, depending on where you are. So the first time seeing a show in a theater can be difficult to follow what's going on if you're not already pre-prepared.

[14:42] Jess: So I don't know. I think doing the adaptation of the movie is the right choice for this particular project. Do I think it makes sense to expand upon that in other ways? Sure. But I don't think a musical would be the place to do that. Because again, you're going to have people who are expecting one thing from it and then are going to be really disappointed if you're not giving them what they're expecting. So, you know, fine creative choice, very poor business choice to do that.

[15:03] Andrew: I'm still chasing the high of SpongeBob the Musical. You know, I want something like that with these properties where you take a well-known property and do your own wacky theatrical thing, wholly original.

[15:20] Jess: Yeah, but SpongeBob has had how many seasons of the show and how many movies where they've done all of those things. So it would make complete and perfect sense for them to do something different in a musical adaptation, whereas this is one singular movie.

[15:37] Andrew: Okay, right. But the one that they are adapting, there's three total movies, but for that particular one that they're adapting, it's just based on that film, you know? So I don't know. That's just my big opinion. Because I think Back to the Future is one of the most perfect movies ever. And putting it on stage is it's nice and good. And I had a good time. And I thought it was incredible to see that DeLorean move up and down. It was a visual treat. But part of me is just like, man, that movie is so good. That's the feeling I have leaving that. And not so much like that musical was so amazing, if that makes sense.

[16:15] Jess: Yeah, I suppose I understand. But again, cool creative choice or business decision. The audience was full. They loved every second of it.

[16:22] Andrew: I am the one that is art above commerce, I guess.

[16:28] Jess: Yeah. And I mean, you know, not everybody's hoity-toity as you could just say pretentious. But yeah, like people, people came dressed up in their like Doc Brown and Marty McFly outfits and like cheered at the right moments. And like, we're going crazy about the DeLorean, which, you know, same. So like, you know, it makes sense that they would want to do that. And to sort of like please the established fan base, and then also make it something that like, there was a lot of kids there too. Like, it's something that's going to be sort of kid friendly.

[17:05] Andrew: Now that I think about it, the incest plot sort of throws a wrench into that idea. But generally, generally kid friendly. You know, now that I think about it, maybe not, because there's just a lot of bad chunk science and things happening. And weird family dynamics that maybe they shouldn't be exposed to. So I retract my statement.

[17:17] Jess: I wonder what those kids thought about this show tonight. I'm sure they saw the movie first, and they kind of knew what they were getting. And honestly, a lot of that kind of goes over your head when you're watching this as a younger person as someone that watched Back to the Future a lot as a younger person, because you're just all into the Marty and Doc thing. You're not really paying attention to the high school stuff. That's when you kind of like tune out and like play with your action figures. And then as soon as you're back to like the sci-fi stuff, you're like, Oh, I'm zoned back in. Let's go.

[18:36] Andrew: I guess, I guess. Yeah, overall, very enjoyable. Do you have any final thoughts?

[18:50] Jess: I think it's a great time. Like, their theater tickets are a lot of money. And like, that is not me saying that this is the time where you can see that money on stage and in the actors and in their performances and in the special effects and in the spectacle of what you are getting. This is trying to make you pleased with your time, make you feel like you spent your night doing something good, and it succeeded. As far as a cheese rating, I'm gonna give it cheese you would put into a bunker in the 50s and then take out now, you know, like the perishable cheese from those doomsday preppers because of the Soviets like in Blast from the Past.

[19:29] Jess: Fair, fair enough. Um, I have similar thoughts. I agree that I think the show, you know, like I said, it's not a Sondheim musical, like you're not really thinking about anything too, too deeply while you're watching it, but you're having a really good time and you are getting a good bang for your buck as far as like what you're seeing. And like the I was very impressed with the set design and like the actual physical sets that people were working with in conjunction with the visual effects and the DeLorean and the screens and all of it sort of like coming together to create like, you know, like just a really good magic trick. It really is just a magic trick. So I was very impressed. I had a really good time. I think people would enjoy it a lot.

[19:36] Jess: And I would agree with cheese rating. I think I would say the cave cheese, it should be like, you know, that whatever, I can't remember what decade it was program where they had a bunch of excess cheese. So they just like stored it in caves. Cave cheese. I think that's what it is. You know, that surplus government cheese would be would be my cheese rating. Definitely a 50s and 80s sort of political time. But yeah, that's my final thought.

[19:53] Jess: And I agree. I believe our next show we'll be seeing with Broadway in Detroit is Tina, the Tina Turner musical. Time to Tina Turner back your time. Yuck. That was disgusting. I didn't make that up. Dan Harmon did that.

[20:00] Jess: Um, but thank you very much Broadway in Detroit for making this possible. And we will see you next time on Theatre in the D. Say goodbye, Miranda.

[20:07] Jess: It is we will have gone through daylight savings by that point. So I think it's this weekend. I have no clue. But I am not ready for it to be dark at 6 PM right now.

[20:07] Miranda: Bye everyone.

[20:23] Andrew: I don't know but I'm gonna find out Calvin Klein I'm gonna make you mine. Something about that.