I attended the show with my older son. Upon entering the theater, I noticed that even the control console was decorated as part of the retro-themed set, lit with blue and red lights. We sat on the left-hand side of the first row. At first, I thought sitting to the side might have been a mistake, but it turned out to offer a very good view.

The story was familiar thanks to the original film series starring Michael J. Fox. The musical faithfully followed the movie’s storyline, keeping many of the original songs. As I sat in my seat, the surroundings glowed in blue light, resembling a motherboard or car panel with connected circuits.

The actor playing Marty was JJ Niemann, an understudy whose name I found on a small insert inside the playbill. He closely resembled Michael J. Fox in both voice and appearance. He was a good singer and actor and played the guitar well — especially the solo after Johnny B. Goode. I wondered briefly if there was hand syncing, but it all seemed convincing.

Marty McFly struggles with a difficult family situation and parents with uninspiring jobs. His mother Lorraine (Lianna Hunt) tells her daughter she first met Marty’s father at a dance party where he kissed her.

Marty visits Doc Brown (Roger Bart), who has built a time machine out of a DeLorean that runs on plutonium. An accident sends Marty back to the year 1955. Aside from minor details, the plot closely follows the film. Roger Bart was excellent, adding a mad scientist energy to the original Doc Brown with shifty eyes and crooked smiles. He truly carried the show.

Marty meets his father at a diner, mirroring his own posture, and realizes who he is. Later, George McFly is caught spying on Lorraine from a tree — a moment interrupted when he falls and knocks Marty out, leading to Marty meeting his mother and grandparents. The famous Calvin Klein reference from the movie also appears.

George McFly, played by Evan Alexander Smith, perfectly captured the nerdy character from the film. My son, who had never seen the movie, was especially impressed by his portrayal. I was too. Lorraine was played by Lianna Hunt, whom I recognized from Newsies (the musical movie), and she was lovely.

To return to his own time, Marty seeks out the younger Doc and convinces him of their connection by showing the drawing of the flux capacitor. A running wordplay between flux caPACitor and capaciTOR had the audience laughing for more than two minutes. At first, I thought Doc’s pronunciation of capaciTOR might reflect a regional accent, but it seemed more like one of his quirky speech habits — a fun continuation of the character’s eccentricity from the original films. The musical included many clever puns and wordplays throughout.

As Doc works to repair the time machine, Marty must ensure his parents kiss at the school dance to prevent his siblings — and himself — from being erased from the future.

Marty and Doc’s visit to the school dance brought one of the funniest moments in the show, centered around the phrase “this is heavy,” which turned into an extended and hilarious sequence that seemed to last nearly five minutes. Marty suggested alternatives like “this is thick,” confusing the 1955 Doc. This clever scene had the audience laughing throughout. I realized then that the show felt more like a Universal Studios theme park production — and in fact, it is produced by Universal. The show broke the fourth wall constantly. While I enjoyed it, I wondered if I would want to see it again. Later, I changed my mind. If I were a DeLorean fan, I certainly would, especially to watch the car accelerate, rotate, and "fly.“

And yes, Doc repeatedly pronounced 1.21 gigawatts as "one point twenty-one jigawatts," just like in the movie. Though in formal science it should be pronounced "one point two one gigawatts," the musical, like the film, humorously retained Doc’s unique “jigawatts” pronunciation. I had to explain to my son that it meant 1.21 GW.

The songs were good, especially “Put Your Mind to It,” a duet between Marty and George McFly. Most of the new songs blended well into the story, though the familiar songs from the original films remained the most memorable moments.

At the dance, Marty performed “Earth Angel” to set the scene for his parents’ kiss, followed by “Johnny B. Goode,” complete with a guitar solo that humorously didn’t match the 1950s era.

To return to 1985, Marty planned to use the lightning strike he knew would hit the clock tower. Doc’s climb up the tower was cleverly shown as an animated projection on the curtain while the DeLorean was prepared on stage. When the curtain rose, the DeLorean was set on stage. Marty drove it while background effects simulated acceleration. The car started on stage, drove to the back center of the stage, and turned to display its side facing stage left as the acceleration effect began. It remained mostly stationary for a moment before moving forward with its rear facing the audience, then continued straight toward the back, speed numbers increasing, and disappeared, leaving a fire trail.

When Marty returned to 1985, he found his siblings with good jobs and his father a successful science fiction writer — inspired by the "alien" he once met in 1955.

I had initially worried that Marty’s girlfriend, played by Mikaela Secada (a good singer and actress), wouldn’t appear much. However, she frequently appeared as part of the ensemble and shared a touching duet with Marty when they missed each other.

The actors who played Biff and the mayor were also strong, staying true to the movie characters.

As the story closed, Doc was left thinking about Marty and his own dream of building a time machine to visit the future. He said he hoped to see the year 2020 (if I remember correctly) and imagined a world without disease. This was a bittersweet moment, given the audience’s recent memories of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Marty’s band played The Power of Love, Doc arrived urgently and asked him to come along. Before departing, he set the DeLorean’s time circuit to the exact date of that night’s performance, drawing applause and laughter from the audience. They boarded the DeLorean, which rotated on stage and set off for the future.

The conductor made the experience especially memorable. Wearing a red vest, he sang along with the score, smiling throughout. Sitting in the first row to the side gave us a perfect view of his joyful performance. During the curtain call, several cast members, including Marty, came to the front of the stage and sang directly in front of us.

The DeLorean itself seemed quite small to closely fit Marty and Doc. It appeared lightweight — likely less than 500 pounds — to allow lifting, movement, and rotation. My son and I noticed a crank at an angle on the back, suggesting either a gear-based or hydraulic motor system for its rotation and movement. My son and I discussed that using one arm to lift and move the car and another to rotate it would be efficient, but given the DeLorean’s light weight, a single arm would likely be sufficient.

I especially enjoyed the full ensemble numbers. At times, I thought the show felt more like a Universal Studios attraction than a traditional musical — breaking the fourth wall often. Yet even Universal shows typically maintain a fourth wall. Despite this, the show was fun, technically impressive, and offered a unique blend of nostalgia and stagecraft.