Sydney Lyric, October 2
8/10
You knew in your bones that a musical hatched from a sci-fi film would have at least one eye-bulging, draw-dropping moment, and it didn’t disappoint. Forget Phantom’s chandelier or Miss Saigon’s helicopter: what the DeLorean does in Back to the Future is in a different stratosphere of wonderment. I won’t spoil it for anyone who goes, but it’s worth sitting through two-and-a-half hours of uneven show to see the car at “speed”, and then… flying!
For anyone who’s been hiding under a rock for 40 years, the story tells of Marty, an all-American student in 1985, who hooks up with Doc, a scientist who solves (most of) the problems of time travel. Marty shoots back to 1955 and meets his parents before they were an item. It’s a cute premise, whether at face value, or withstanding anything from philosophical to quasi-Oedipal scrutiny.
Earlier this century, the movie’s writers, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, hit upon a musical, and brought some wide-screen thinking to the production, which, in design terms, is a bonanza of “wow” moments at the outer limits of the possible.
If we’re nearly halfway through the review without talking about characterisations, performances, music or choreography, that tells you where the show’s priorities lie – with notable exceptions. Roger Bart originated the role of Doc in London, took it to Broadway and now Sydney, where his first appearance gives the show a shot in the arm. Bart ensures that, like Marty, we fall for the Doc’s eccentric ingenuity, madcap daring, intellectual hypothesising, moral compass, humour and benevolence.
Axel Duffy’s performance as Marty grows on you as it becomes more multifaceted. After all, how many sons have to deal with their mother (ignorant of the son’s identity) trying to seduce them? Duffy brings a boy-next-door likeability, and can sing his socks off when required.
Ah, yes, the songs. These were crafted by the movie’s original composer, Alan Silvestri, in collaboration with Glen Ballard, and flit quirkily between 1955 and 1985. They also range from ballads that you wish you could fast-forward to songs as thoroughly engaging as Gotta Start Somewhere, For the Dreamers, and Teach Him a Lesson.
Ashleigh Rubenach, Ethan Jones and Javon King are commendable in the minor roles, and both the ensemble work (choreographed by Chris Bailey) and Daniel Griffin’s nine-piece band are as tight as a wound clock.
At the end, global producer, Colin Ingram, director John Rando and writer Bob Gale came out, with the latter recounting how the original idea came from his seeing school photos of his father, and wondering, had he been able to meet him then, if they’d have been friends. He also told us about the rejections they received before the first movie was made, and the repeat process with the musical. As the song says: “This one’s for the dreamers/Who never stop believing”.