"Back to the Future: The Musical"
Detroit Opera House
Detroit, Mich.
Through Nov. 9, 2025
Nerds united this week when the touring production of “Back to the Future: The Musical” made a stop at the Detroit Opera House. The show brings the 1985 cult science fiction film to the stage about the time-traveling journey of rock and roll teenager Marty McFly. It features a book by Bob Gale, who co-wrote the film with director Robert Zemeckis, and music by original composer Alan Silvestri, along with Glen Ballard.
The show is light and funny with a delightful retro-futuristic vibe and special effects, plus 1980s and 1950s nostalgia that should not disappoint the cult fandom (although admittedly, I am not part of it). We follow Marty as he accidentally travels back to the 1950s and must save his own existence by helping his high school-aged parents meet and fall in love.
Like the musical adaptations of other cult films like “Mean Girls” and “Beetlejuice,” the show offers fans a mix of iconic scenes and dialogue with updates to make the original stories more relevant (or less problematic) to modern audiences – hopefully without pissing them off too much.
For “Back to the Future,” that means replacing the angry Libyans who shoot Doc Brown with plutonium poisoning. It also includes “Cake,” a welcome-to-the-‘50s song poking fun at the wholesome nostalgia of the decade with the actual reality that era created for our future. It has references to the prolific use of leaded gasoline, cigarettes and asbestos and this gem of a lyric: “All of these white men get to have their cake ... so let the women bake. We get to have our cake and eat ... it ... too!”
The show also has a reference to a future visit to 2020 “where disease has been eradicated,” and site-specific personalizations, like a digital map that originates from Detroit and a pronunciation lesson of flux capaciTOR, “not pronounced like a Detroit Tiger,” which was fun.
The star of the musical is the DeLorean, the iconic '80s car-turned-time travel machine, which comes alive with lights, sounds, fog and even a fun surprise at the end. The show captures the excitement of the time travel moving the car across the stage between screens and a projection of blurred streets and scenery – plus more fog and lights – which makes for a thrilling experience.
Lucas Hallauer embodies Marty McFly, with a resemblance to Daniel Radcliffe that at times give the impression of Harry Potter playing Michael J. Fox, which in no way takes away from the role. Hallauer captures Marty’s spunk and charisma and does justice to the iconic role, which should make superfans happy.
Mike Bindeman as the awkward, insecure George McFly is another standout, with charming quirks and bumbles that made him one of the show’s most endearing characters.
The music is upbeat and catchy, with nods to the sounds of their respective periods, and still includes Huey Lewis’ “The Power of Love” and “Back in Time” as well as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” An ensemble of dancers elevates the songs with impressive dance numbers, especially the celebratory “Johnny B. Goode” with the high-energy lifts, flips and twirling skirts of 1950s swing.
“Back to the Future” is a delightful show that blends the charming nostalgia of the movie’s past with modern references that – aptly – capture the film’s future with enough updates to keep the source material fresh. Whether you’re a “Back to the Future” superfan or have never seen the film, “Back to the Future: The Musical” makes for a fun night at the theater.
