‘Back to the Future’ musical a fun trip to the past

Stage musicals based on popular movies have a built-in audience, but if the film was released in 1985, and much of the plot occurs in 1955, it needs to be a film that’s either a classic or just plain fun. “Back to the Future” – the movie – was both, in my opinion, and “Back to the Future: The Musical,” now playing through Sept. 1 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, is a fun family show that may well spur interest in watching, or rewatching, the original Michael J. Fox-Christopher Lloyd trilogy of films.

The musical, with a book by Bob Gale (who wrote the 1985 film with Robert Zemeckis), has the same plot as the movie, but for those who aren’t familiar, here’s the setup: Marty McFly (Fox in the film, Caden Brauch in this touring stage production) is a 1985 teenager who loves rock ’n’ roll, his girlfriend, his family (even though they can be exasperating) and Doc Brown (Lloyd in the movie, Don Stephenson here).

We soon find out that Doc is an inventor who may have developed a way to time travel in a souped-up, plutonium-powered DeLorean (“The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?”).

Before that invention dramatically appears on stage, we get to meet Marty’s:

• Girlfriend Jennifer (Kiara Lee), the most encouraging significant other Marty could hope for, Lee’s beautiful clear voice shining through in the lyrics of a duet (“Wherever We’re Going”) with Brauch: “You’re everything to me”;

• Cowardly, geeky father George McFly (Burke Swanson) and his domineering boss, Biff Tannen (Ethan Rogers), who has bullied George since high school 30 years earlier;

• Older brother and sister Dave (Fisher Lane Stewart) and Linda (Laura Sky Herman), whose McDonald’s job and desire for a date, respectively, seem to be all they can hope for;

• Mother Lorraine (Zan Berube), whose best years are also in the past, as she remembers meeting George in 1955, when he fell out of a tree near her home and was brought into her home to recuperate.

When Marty meets Doc later that night, the DeLorean is needed by Marty during an emergency, but instead of speeding to a hospital, the “flux capacitor” and the car’s 88 mph speed combine to send Marty back to 1955. He’s still in Hill Valley, and it’s a week before the big school dance at which his parents had their first kiss. Marty soon meets 30-years-younger versions of George, Lorraine, Biff, Doc and even Goldie Wilson (the 1985 mayor of the town, relegated to sweeping duty at the local diner in 1955).

Have these interactions changed the space-time continuum? If Lorraine – Marty’s future mother, remember? – finds herself infatuated with Marty, what will be the ripple effects on the future? And how can Marty get “back to the future?” Those questions are all answered by the end of the musical, the finale featuring two Huey Lewis and the News songs from the original movie (“The Power of Love” and “Back in Time”) performed by Marty and the ensemble cast.

There’s a lot to like here. First and foremost are the special effects, courtesy of Video Designer Finn Ross and Illusion Designer Chris Fisher. With immersive videos and appropriate lighting (kudos to Lighting Designers Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone), there are times when you’re not quite sure if the full DeLorean is moving at all or if the car is only a video representation.

The script is another highlight, many of the memorable bits of film dialogue being reprised, including:

• Biff: “Why don’t you make like a tree … and get outta here!”

• Marty, reacting to the possibility that his actions in 1955 could mean he and his siblings are never born: “This is so heavy.” Doc Brown: “Weight has nothing to do with it.”

I also liked some of the new songs by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, especially “Gotta Start Somewhere,” an impressively choreographed ensemble number that features the soul/R&B stylings of Cartreze Tucker as Goldie Wilson, and “For the Dreamers,” an Act II solo by Doc in which he poignantly pays tribute to not just the famous inventors whose pictures adorn his workshop/lab, but also those who didn’t quite succeed – like himself (until 30 years in the future, as Marty reminds him). Berube and three surprise backup singers also provide the fun when they croon that the new boy in town (Marty) is a “Pretty Baby.”

This is a tech-heavy show and, at one point, a technical problem forced an unplanned break, chuckles greeting the projection of “Please stand by while we adjust the space-time continuum.” After four minutes of lights in the theater being halfway on, we heard a slightly presumptuous announcement: “We will resume with your applause.” We did.

In summary, though, whether you remember the ’50s, the ’80s or just this century, there’s no time like the present to enjoy this “Future,” unless Sept. 1 already has passed.

• Paul Lockwood is a communications consultant at Health Care Service Corporation in Chicago, as well as a local theater actor, singer, award-winning columnist, Grace Lutheran Church (Woodstock) and Toastmasters member and past president of TownSquare Players. He and his wife have lived in Woodstock for more than 23 years.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Back to the Future: The Musical”

• WHERE: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago

• WHEN: Playing through Sept. 1

• INFORMATION: broadwayinchicago.com/shows/back-to-the-future