Back to the Future: The Musical speeds successfully back in time

Back to the Future: The Musical is the latest offering from Broadway in Chicago's current lineup. The project has had many stops and starts over the years after beginning production back in 2012. The North American touring production has a few kinks to work out still as well, but overall it races past some of the competition.

Right out of the gate, Marty McFly drops into the home of Dr. Emmett Brown where a message leads him to meet Brown in a mall parking lot. The sets are huge and shift quickly to make the next scene progress. From the beginning, some of the story could be trimmed down and there's no need for a romantic song called “Wherever We're Going.”

“Cake” is another unnecessary detour and so is a cheerleading sequence, but then “Gotta Start Somewhere” suddenly steals the show. Cartreze Tucker should have a spinoff but not be allowed to upstage all the main players by the producers. A diner worker named Goldie Wilson has nothing to do with the main plot and with an almost three-hour experience seriously needs to be cut. He delivers the funniest line in the whole musical as Marvin Berry later and channels Little Richard in the process, but again this is a secondary character at best.

The other cast members slowly break away from the box that was created by the movie. Caden Brauch as Marty does a subtle job of using actor Michael J. Fox's mannerisms and vocal styles then makes the character his own. Don Stephenson as Doc Brown and Burke Swanson as George McFly hit the gas after leaving the stereotypical starting line with their rendition of iconic character actors. Zan Berube as Lorraine Baines resembles Mandy Moore and does a fine job of playing the sometimes awkward part.

The good stuff is in the second act and by making smart cuts the DeLorean can cruise there much faster. The last section has plot points from the original material which makes it a bit predictable.

The car sequences and scene shifting is incredibly impressive and obviously has a big budget. The crew is prepared for glitches and on opening night technical difficulties brought the production to a brief halt. The orchestra conductor's laptop facing the audience was distracting with lights that took away from the visuals onstage.

Longtime fans of the franchise will enjoy this musical version that contains many of the elements from the 1985 film. There's a rash of recent nostalgia movie musicals and this one fares better than Pretty Woman with a few memorable songs. It aligns with well-done cinematic-inspired musical interpretations such as Beetlejuice and Death Becomes Her.

The timing for Back to the Future lands perfectly in the Windy City with the Fan Expo on the weekend and a special themed attire night is slated for Future on Friday, August 16, 2024, with free posters to the first 300 specially dressed arrivals.

The built-in fanbase will benefit the show's ticket sales and if the bolts are tightened up a bit Back to the Future: The Musical could be even better.

This musical runs now at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 West Randolph Street, through Sept. 1 before it hits the road. For tickets visit broadwayinchicago.com and feel “The Power of Love.”