Back to the Future - the Musical

[Jane Zussman]

We loved Back to the Future on Broadway in 2023 - so I was a bit skeptical that a touring show could match the movie-like projections and special effects — but wow! The Wharton Center version more than lived up to its Broadway predecessor!

This hit-movie-inspired time-travel adventure offers a double layer of nostalgia, especially for those of us who remember both 1955 and 1985! The costumes, the dances… some fun historic references. The practical sets blended perfectly with amazing projections and sound effects to make it feel like a movie with real live people. 

Lucas Hallauer brought charm, energy and heart to our hero Marty McFly as he rode that time-machine DeLorean from a dismal, bullied 1985 to a ripe-for-interference 1955. Challenged by the potential disappearance of his future self, he played a delightfully awkward matchmaker for his teenage parents, well played by the exquisitely gawky Mike Bindeman and that “fast girl” charmer Zan Berube. 

David Josefsberg was hysterical and adorable as Doc Brown, our favorite mad scientist, and Nathaniel Hackmann was perfectly awful as the bully we love to hate. Cartreze Tucker was also a highlight as the inspiring aspiring-and-future Mayor Goldie, and as musician Marvin Berry, He is an outstanding singer among a cast of great singers. 

This show is not short, about two and a half hours, but it earns every minute. It’s a full meal of nostalgia, adventure, spectacle and heart-warming poetic justice. 

Back to the Future continues through January 18 at Wharton Center’s Great Hall 

Tickets at https://www.whartoncenter.com/events/detail/back-to-the-future-the-musical

Jane Zussman

G.L.U.T. List

(Greater Lansing Ubiquitous Theatre)

cell 517-930-0932

JSZu...@gmail.com

http://www.greaterlansingtheatre.net 

To review past emails as they were sent, click “About the G.L.U.T.” and choose “email list” from the drop-down menu — also check out the all-theatres calendar.

“Like” us on Facebook!