Back To The Future previews- Page 2

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 10:09pm

Oh love, we've had movies from the last millennium turned into musicals for decades now. Nothing new, and the vast majority flop."

Very fair! As I said, many of these I do actually enjoy. Someone made the point that Ragtime is technically an adaption as well as and I adore it. I guess it just seems like more and more of these shows that are just there to make money and not to actually do something with the material. Like, what is Back to the Future or Tootsie or Mrs. Doubtfire or Almost Famous doing to make a statement about the original or elevate it on some level? Why do we need to hear these stories with song, on stage?

Although I guess that could be said about anything: Why did Les Miserables need to be sung? Wicked? Maybe I'm just a hater because it's a movie. Either way, interested to see where this goes.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 10:19pm

These shows are “jobs for hire.” This is a business and people want to pay their bills. 
 

I don’t really get your hatred for movie turned musicals when the majority of famous shows are based on prior movies or books. “A Little Night Music” is based on a film. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 10:22pm

DaveyG said: "RippedMan said: "I think it depends on the creative process. "A Band's Visit" was a movie before a musical, but clearly it was a passion project for the creatives. "Tootsie" seemed like a for hire gig. Hence the outcome.

I will always be baffled and fascinated by the critical and theatrical community’s embrace of “Tootsie” through the Tonys and then it’s like everyone got buyer’s remorse and started hating it.

"

That really was fascinating...

Is Moulin Rouge a fair comparison to this show? All about the spectacle and technical elements while still paying a good bit of homage to the movie?

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 10:25pm

RippedMan said: "These shows are “jobs for hire.” This is a business and people want to pay their bills.


I don’t really get your hatred for movie turned musicals when the majority of famous shows are based on prior movies or books. “A Little Night Music” is based on a film."

Yes, with some great ones.

Then there are the ones which tried to make a quick buck through nostalgia and failed miserably. Think Urban Cowboy, Tootsie, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, Shrek, Sister Act, 9 to 5, Rocky - the list is endless. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 10:38pm

blaxx said: "RippedMan said: "These shows are “jobs for hire.” This is a business and people want to pay their bills.


I don’t really get your hatred for movie turned musicals when the majority of famous shows are based on prior movies or books. “A Little Night Music” is based on a film."

Yes, with some great ones.

Then there are the ones which tried to make a quick buck through nostalgia and failed miserably. Think Urban Cowboy, Tootsie, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, Shrek, Sister Act, 9 to 5, Rocky - the list is endless."

Shrek has some great music though!

[Canada007]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 11:02pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "blaxx said: "RippedMan said: "These shows are “jobs for hire.” This is a business and people want to pay their bills.


I don’t really get your hatred for movie turned musicals when the majority of famous shows are based on prior movies or books. “A Little Night Music” is based on a film."

Yes, with some great ones.

Then there are the ones which tried to make a quick buck through nostalgia and failed miserably. Think Urban Cowboy, Tootsie, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, Shrek, Sister Act, 9 to 5, Rocky - the list is endless."

Shrek has some great music though!"

What I mean is that most of these were primarily musicalized to profit from the franchises, with poor financial results. Tesori certainly never thought her artistry will expand and grow by doing Shrek, just her wallet.

Expect the same from BTTF, they want your money not to advance the art form. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 6/28/23 at 11:10pm

Yeah, I'd kind of put Shrek in its own category. I think it started as one of the corporate scheme musicals, but the level of talent involved ended up elevating it. 

I'd put Beetlejuice and, to a lesser extent, Moulin Rouge in a similar category, although that mostly has to do with the production and not the actual material (which is much stronger for Shrek). 

But overall, I think people like to complain about movie adaptations without making the very crucial distinction between the corporate schemes and legitimate adaptations. Almost Famous, Pretty Woman, and Tootsie in the first category while Waitress and The Band's Visit fall into the second. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 12:00am

Great Scott!

Dust off that flux capacitor and rev up the DeLorean, because Back to the Future begins previews at the Winter Garden Theatre tomorrow night. Based on the iconic 1985 movie, the London import — which won a 2022 Olivier Award for best new musical — stars Casey Likes, Roger Bart, Hugh Coles, Liana Hunt, Jelani Remy, and Nathaniel Hackmann. Back to the Future features a score by Glen Ballard and the film’s composer Alan Silvestri, with a book by co-creator Bob Gale, choreography by Chris Bailey, and direction by John Rando. Opening night is currently slated for August 3.

“When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past and send himself… back to the future.”

Who else is going? (If you’re driving there, please don’t go 88 miles per hour!)

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 6:59am

Not going until next Saturday afternoon, but I'm excited to see this. I love a good spectacle!

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 8:12am

bwayphreak234 said: "Not going until next Saturday afternoon, but I'm excited to see this. I love a good spectacle!"

Then seriously just turn up for the last twenty minutes. Everything else before that is beyond awful. The Act 2 opener is a crime against musical theatre. 

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 8:33am

I loved the film.  Saw first act in London last summer. Couldn't take anymore of it. It literally is a theme park ride version of a Broadway show.  Awful music.  Roger Bart yucking it up seemingly every minute nudge nudge wink wink to the audience.  

 Yeah, didn't make it to Act Two.

Updated On: 6/29/23 at 08:33 AM

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 8:53am

VernonGersch said: "I loved the film. Saw first act in London last summer. Couldn't take anymore of it. It literally is a theme park ride version of a Broadway show. Awful music. Roger Bart yucking it up seemingly every minute nudge nudge wink wink to the audience.

Yeah, didn't make it to Act Two."

I was too cheap to leave after spending the money and hoped it would get batter.  I was wrong.  Casey Likes was the only thing I liked about Almost Famous so I hope he's good but the material is just bad.  I hope i'm wrong and he elevates it, Roger Bart didn't.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 8:55am

None of these characters quite seem like characters that would sing.. so I don't think have high hopes for this, but love a big bloated musical with stagecraft. (I, for one, loved Rocky just for its design and direction).

[flord10]

Posted: 6/29/23 at 9:09am

RippedMan said: "None of these characters quite seem like characters that would sing.. so I don't think have high hopes for this, but love a big bloated musical with stagecraft. (I, for one, loved Rocky just for its design and direction)."

Except for Marty haha

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 6:38pm

Previews start tonight. anyone going?

[Shubert Alley Cat]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 7:00pm

I am not going to see BTTF until next Friday but tonight’s first preview audience is going to be … interesting.  Lots of mega-fans doing cosplay at my hotel which is right near the Winter Garden.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 7:20pm

I’m here, and yes, this is a hardcore crowd. I’ll keep you posted.

[DAME]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 7:39pm

We left after act 1 in London.  Just not our thing.  Kind of sad this got a transfer.  Weird how such a legendary theater as the Winter Garden has become the home of tacky movie transfers. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 11:46pm

How was first preview tonight?

For what it's worth, the listed running time is 2 hours 40 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 6/30/23 at 11:50pm

Liked it, but didn’t love it. The good:

1) Hugh Coles is fantastic. He’s a perfect mix of Crispin Glover’s George with his own spin. He nails it all.
2) Casey Likes was a great Marty. He has his own take on the character, and I appreciated that. Went until about 11:05 and started at 8:15.  

3) The DeLorean! Holy cow, that thing steals the show in many moments.

4) Jennifer is usually a throw away for me since we only see her briefly at the beginning and end, but I liked this Jennifer’s portrayal. It felt more romantic.

The Bad:

1) Roger Bart’s Doc. He screams for 2 1/2 hours, and they’ve turned the character into a foolish dope. His pants split and I’m supposed to crack up? He thrusts emphatically and we’re supposed to be highly entertained? Nope. He’s working hard, I’ll give him that, but it’s partly how they’ve written him in the musical and partly how he’s portrayed.

2) Lorraine doesn’t give her character much personality except for when she sings her horny song about her son. We know nothing else about her and the delivery is also missing personality.

The In-Between:

1) Songs are a mixed bag. I liked most in the first act and once the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance happened and we got to the 50s classics, the second act picked up, but there were a few rough ones at the beginning of act two. .

2) Mayor Goldie Wilson has a great song, but I didn’t love Jelani’s delivery. I didn’t think his voice was strong enough (and I really liked him in Ain’t Too Proud), and he mumbled through a few things, so I couldn’t make out what he was saying when delivering his lines.

Show started at about 8:20 and went until 11:05. It’s loyal to the movie (very) but changes it up in a few necessary moments. I can’t talk about changes from London, as I didn’t see it there, but I did enjoy this imperfect show.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 12:35am

They had to cancel the dress rehearsal, so this was actually the first full run-through of the show. I'm willing to forgive some performance inconsistencies a break.

I liked it, and felt that this wasn't a fully serious adaptation, with the actors sending-up some of the mannerisms from the film. Unlike Mrs. Doubtfire or Shrek, I wasn't regretting my decision or wishing that'd I was at home watching the movie instead. I hated the elevation of Jennifer, and Goldie Wilson (it was pretty pointless). Sure most of the songs were forgettable, but it was a fun evening. 

Broadway was never meant to be high at, and I find it laughable that people seem to think shows that have no "message" are unworthy.

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 12:53am

Also at tonight's first preview. Like but not loved the show. It's Broadway comfort food: lots of little references and jokes to things that happen in the movie that were omitted for time or other purposes, forgettable songs, and a story arc that the entire audience knows where it's going. It'll probably do pretty well with tourists, and I may see it again when it's a little more polished, but it's not high art. 

 Wondering what their marketing people are doing? $45 lottery tickets, so two for $90. How about you make it $44 so that you get to 88 dollars for two? They have a bunch of $84 seats. Did nobody think to make them $88? And also have a tier of seats for $151?

Oh, and Broadway etiquette has gotten so much worse than it was before COVID. People with their phones out constantly checking their messages talking with each other...

Updated On: 7/1/23 at 12:53 AM

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 12:59am

Were the songs good? Did they make sense? Did they move the story along? 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 1:02am

Interesting to me that all of us who saw it tonight seem to say the same thing - like but not love. It’s interesting because the audience was rapturous. Seemed to be filled with super fans who came in and out of costume and people who were involved with the show in one way or another (producers were behind me, mother of a cast member was next to me). I’ve been to first previews before, but this was next level. Hope they read our thoughts and make some fixes during previews.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/1/23 at 4:58am

DramaTeach said: "Hope they read our thoughts and make some fixes during previews."

I mean, that’s what previews are for. I watched the first curtain call and they NEED to fix that tech! Not to mention the timing of how each actor comes out to take their bow. Again, it was just the first preview. That was the show in its rawest form and hopefully will be fixed up by its August opening.