BACK TO THE FUTURE On Broadway - News & Discussion Thread — Page 2

This kind of feels like it has flop energy to me. Not necessarily due to its quality, but just… the general vibe. An enormous London transfer of an adaptation of a popular property that nobody particularly wanted as a musical does not seem like it bodes well.

I mentioned this in the other thread, but I expected to hate this but had a blast. The first twenty minutes could use some tightening, but I had a smile on the entire time. One of the best spectacle shows I’ve seen in years. It will fit perfectly at the Broadway

The Adelphi in London is surprisingly narrow (waitress played there) but the show needs a large theatre with seats for the economics to work.

Updated On: 6/22/22 at 08:08 PM

Disappointing. I like Roger Bart in general but not a fan of him in this based on what I’ve seen. He didn’t even get an Olivier nomination.

Kad said: "This kind of feels like it has flop energy to me. Not necessarily due to its quality, but just… the general vibe. An enormous London transfer of an adaptation of a popular property that nobody particularly wanted as a musical does not seem like it bodes well."

It is Groundhog Day, all over again.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Valentina3 said: "It is Groundhog Day, all over again."

Groundhog Day.....Willy Wonka.....Tina.....Ghost.....even Billy Elliot underperformed on Bway despite a 3-year run."

Billy Elliot won the Tony and made a profit. I didn't under perform.

I loved Groundhog Dog. Thought it departed from the movie and was a lot of fun.

This just seems...not good. If the score isn't worth it, what's the point?

RippedMan said: "Billy Elliot won the Tony and made a profit. I didn't under perform."

I'm not calling it a "flop" by any means, but the producers were expecting a better financial performance/longer run on Broadway than it actually had. It ran 11 years in London. The infrastructure of training and constantly replacing the dancers was tough. It lost the Tony for Best Score. It was never a cultural phenomenon here in the way that it was in the UK. On the flip side, I'm sure things like HAMILTON will run longer on Broadway than in the UK. MATILDA was a similar situation in NYC, though it ran slightly longer, but it had dismal financial returns post-recoupment.

Hard to compare GROUNDHOG DAY London vs Broadway, because in London it was a limited engagement at a nonprofit theatre.

Listening to some of the London cast album right now. This leans SO into the nostalgia of the movie, to the point where the "overture" is a suite from Alan Silvestri's film score.

The biggest problem is that Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard are not theatrical songwriters, and it shows.

EDSOSLO858 said: "Ted Arthur reposted the Broadway teaser for this show on his Insta story yesterday. Something tells me he's attached to the music team in some way."

His story said “#md,” so I assume he will be the music director.

^While we're on the subject of casting, who can any of you see playing some of the other characters?

Updated On: 6/24/22 at 08:11 PM

The problem with cast speculation is that you really can’t do it for this show. The production, wisely, has cast a team of actors who are pretty much fully capable of embodying their film counterparts and you’re going to need the exact same thing on Broadway. So unless you know for sure that a certain actor or actress can do a spot on impression of Michael J. Fox, Crispin Glover or Lea Thompson, then there’s really no point in even throwing their name out.

Jordan Catalano said: "The problem with cast speculation is that you really can’t do it for this show. The production, wisely, has cast a team of actors who are pretty much fully capable of embodying their film counterparts and you’re going to need the exact same thing on Broadway. So unless you know for sure that a certain actor or actress can do a spot on impression of Michael J. Fox, Crispin Glover or Lea Thompson, then there’s really no point in even throwing their name out.

That’s why I find it odd that ally wouldn’t transfer. He does a spot on Michael J Fox imitation.

Jordan Catalano said: "pmensky said: "That’s why I find it odd that ally wouldn’t transfer. He does a spot on Michael J Fox imitation."

When he shows up to work, yeah he does. Lol

Well, THAT could be a very good reason for him not to transfer.