BACK TO THE FUTURE Reviews — Page 2

Vulture is negative:

https://www.vulture.com/2023/08/theater-review-back-to-the-future-musical-broadway.html

"What Back to the Future does deliver instead of commentary on the original is a beat-by-beat translation of its set pieces. The DeLorean arrives onstage at the same time as Bart’s Doc, and actor and car split the entrance applause. When Marty gets inside and guns for 88 miles per hour, the screens around the stage blur behind him. (I felt right back in that Universal Studios amusement-park ride.) You’ll perhaps notice a V-shaped set of slats in the stage, ready to ignite behind the wheels of the car, and later on, the DeLorean soars into the air for its own “Defying Gravity” moment — turns out the flying cars are here. The stagecraft is well managed (Chris Fisher, of The Cursed Child, is credited with the illusions, while Finn Ross did the video design and Hugh Vanstone the lighting), but watching the climax, where Doc and Marty race to get everything set in time for lightning to strike, I kept noticing how much the musical nearly turned into a movie. The screens, which so dominate the set, provide for cuts between Doc and Marty, the score’s basically the one you know, and the actors are really there only to sit in a car and on a ledge and shout lines you know. When the ledge under Doc crumbles, that’s a screen too. If this is the future arriving on Broadway, it looks way too much like another medium’s past."

The Wrap is negative:

‘Back to the Future’ Broadway Review: Roger Bart Travels on Autopilot

The gifted comedian delivers the performance this tired exercise in excessive stagecraft deserves

https://www.thewrap.com/back-to-the-future-broadway-review/

"Beyond Doc’s gray fright wig, Bart doesn’t replicate Christopher Lloyd’s memorable performance in the movie. Instead, he brings to mind a manic but weary Jack Lemmon sometime around that legendary actor’s comic nadir of “Luv” and “Good Neighbor Sam.” Bart played Doc on the West End, and he hasn’t so much grown in the role as switched it to autopilot. Who can blame him? The songs and jokes are dreary, and some of the sight gags that director John Rando has provided — Doc’s pants rip at one point when the character bends over to stick his butt up in the air — are lame. When Rando’s work isn’t vulgar, it is often incomprehensible. Big and purposefully tacky production numbers pop up out of nowhere only to evaporate just as quickly."

Variety:

‘Back to the Future’ Review: Broadway Musical’s Car Is the Star in Underwhelming Screen-to-Stage Duplication

https://variety.com/2023/legit/reviews/back-to-the-future-review-broadway-musical-1235685147/

"All that dazzle might satisfy film fans looking to relive signature moments, but for others seeking re-imaginings more than repeats, “Back to the Future” will seem more fitting for a theme park than Broadway. Touring venues, however, may be more welcoming, with less demanding audiences looking for the comfort of familiar titles and the promise of spectacle. With “Back to the Future” already selling great in Gotham, only time — and the box office — will reveal the musical’s Broadway future."

WSJ/Isherwood is negative:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/back-to-the-future-the-musical-review-docs-delorean-on-broadway-silvestri-roger-bart-f9a2349d?mod=opinion_reviews_pos2

"But the musical as a whole never achieves liftoff, or even the stage equivalent of 88 miles an hour. It cruises along in a low gear for almost three hours. Unfathomable as it may seem, the show won the prestigious Olivier Award for best new musical in London. I fancifully imagine Sir Laurence was doing a bit of grave-spinning when that trophy was bestowed."

These are mixed to negative, true reflection of the show.

Does any of this matter with this show?

lapinitsa said: "Does any of this matter with this show?"

I think it could, come awards season. Very different take from London.

Will it affect the box office in the long run? Who knows, but it's very expensive to run. For it to make a profit it needs to soar to Lion King levels, at least for a while.

Updated On: 8/3/23 at 10:51 PM

Their reviews don’t matter but yikes. I won’t see it because of them - we see most everything and these as to the overall very weak fall schedule unfortunately . At least it saved me money I guess. 

I mean even the producers held the party on a different night, they knew what was coming. 

Will be curious to see what the numbers look like once the summer tourist head out 

I doubt that reviews will matter. This is a party, like "Barbie" is a party. It will get an audience for a run, screaming at every turn and coming back again and again. And tourists. It's a title everyone knows. It's got nostalgia and a bit with a car.

I was at the show tonight and loved it. But I’m a BTTF fan. I admit the songs fall flat but I was entertained and the car scenes were outstanding, albeit only mere minutes of the show. My theater partner is team thumbs down and says a prop isn’t enough to make a show. So I suppose between the two of us, we form a mixed review as well. 

I don't think the bad reviews will have any immediate detriment.  I'm not sure of thier advance,if it's healthy so much the better. There sounds like there was a large amount of positive word of mouth from preview audience, if that continues to  spread and current audiences enjoy it and spread positive WOM thats a positive. The bad reviews haven't said the team behind this have created any kind of sacrilege and some potential audiences may take comfort in that . Word of mouth ,of negative, could be of some future consequences.  In may be right in the wheel house of audiences looking for a big splashy loud and special effects laden good time. I don't think the creators are counting on serious minded theater goers to support it. If they market it properly to thier targeted audiences they should be fine. In the meantime,only time will tell.

Just saw the show on opening night. Loved it. It seems that everyone in the audience that I could see from my seat, loved it. So in these reviews, I wonder if these “critics” went into this not-wanting to even like it.  I don’t get the critics complaining about the “book” from the guy who wrote the movie. What were they expecting? Him to rewrite whole movie or give us what we know? As for the music, it does take multiplie listeners (via the soundtrack) to really  appreciate the lyrics. Having heard the soundtrack first, i think I enjoyed the music even more.  So hopefully the overall positive posts by fans who have actually seen the musical, can over come some those critics reviews. Remember Wicked had bad reviews as well. And that turned out nicely.