Don Stephenson, Caden Brauch, and Cast Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

It's hard to believe that it's almost forty years since high school hottie Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox in a dazzling turn in the movie) went from twanging his electric guitar and making plans with his girlfriend Jennifer to inadvertently taking a spin in local eccentric Doc Brown's new creation, a time-travel machine seductively housed in the body of a DeLorean, the ultimate automobile-as-sex-object. When the Delorean lands, Marty is still in Hill Valley, his fictional California hometown, but it is 1955, 30 years earlier. Doc had set that date for the first time travel trip because that was when he first thought of inventing the time travel machine.

Unschooled on how a time traveler needs to behave, Marty unwittingly disturbs the time-space continuum–that is, he allows his presence to alter the course of events. This isn't good in any case, and really not good for Marty because his interference may prevent his parents from making the special connection that led to them becoming a Mr. and Mrs., and hence keep Marty from having an existence. He has to think and act fast, manipulating his alcoholic mother Lorraine, now a hot-to-trot high schooler with a raging crush on Marty, though she calls him Calvin; his dad, George, a dweeby pushover as Marty's 1985 father, now as dweeby a pushover as a 1955 teen; Biff, a bully who pushes himself insufferably on the teenage Lorraine and who torments George both in high school and thirty years later as George's boss. Marty must also connect with the thirty years younger Doc Brown, his only hope of finding a way back to his own time, his rock band, and Jennifer.

Both as a movie and as a stage musical, Back to the Future is hilarious. Part of the wit in the movie draws on satirizing the mid 1980s, when the movie came out, by way of comparison to the 1950s, and visa versa. Now, in 2024, with a few more decades passed, the mix of nostalgia and riffing on the changes wrought between not two, but three eras makes for even more comic combustion. To wit, Marty's repeated use of the euphemism "that's really heavy" to comment on his predicament when talking with Doc Brown in 1955 spawns a funny line; for us, watching in 2024, the use of the word "heavy" in that context is a throwback to an earlier time and generates a different humorous reaction.

Like the movie, Back to the Future: The Musical has a trifecta: science fiction, romantic comedy, and rock and roll. It ices that cake with lots of songs, robust dancing, and dazzling stage effects, more impressive than effects on the screen because we watch, our mouths gaping open, wondering, "What kind of geniuses did it take to pull this off?" Seriously, if the brain-power that makes Marty McFly appear to really travel through time, and the cosmic Delorean lift off the ground, were applied to something like, say, climate change, we might all be able to breath a little easier. To give credit to those brainiacs, we cite video designer Finn Ross and illusion designer Chris Fischer, with sound designer Gareth Owen and lighting designers Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone contributing to the magic, while expertly lighting and providing sound through the entirety of the show. While we are talking about design, Tim Hatley designed the period-perfect costumes and the elaborate scenery that gives the show a sense of being full blown, in comparison to many recent musicals that offer skimpy sets where the audience is expected to fill in the blanks.

While this is a musical comedy bonanza from a quality aspect, the show skews to comedy, with a book by Bob Gale who, with film director Robert Zemeckis, co-created and co-wrote the movie. A great many of the situations and a good share of the dialogue on stage come straight from the movie, and it all works just as well in its live rendition. The original songs by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard fit in well enough to embellish the story, and provide multiple occasions for the frisky dancing choreographed by Chris Bailey, but none make a lasting impression. Silvestri's greatest contribution is the soaring orchestral theme, written for the movie, which serves as an overture, with underscoring teased out from bits of it throughout the show.

A few genuine rock and roll songs that were used in the movie are inserted into the show. To lend authenticity to the mid-1950s high school dance, "Earth Angel," by Curtis Williams, Jessie Belvin, and Gaynel Hodge and recorded in 1954 by The Penguins (their only hit), and Johnny B. Goode," written and recorded by Chuck Berry in 1958 (yeah, the movie is set in 1955, but the song works, so why quibble?). Also returning from the film is "The Power of Love," written by Huey Lewis specifically for the movie. At the time (1985), Huey Lewis and the News were riding high on their bestselling album, "Sports," and "The Power of Love," became a huge hit for them as well. The song shows up near the end of the musical as a feel-good anthem meant to wrap things up, and it accomplishes those aims with a joyful flourish.

If you are a fan of the movie, it may be hard to shake the iconic performances by Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown. I love them both, but newcomer Caden Brauch as Marty won me over on his own accord, emitting a charisma that melds boyish charm with incipient sex appeal, terrific line delivery and timing, a lithe body that handles physical comedy and dance with aplomb, and even a bit of a catch in his throat, a Fox trademark. Don Stephenson, a veteran, gives a solid performance as Doc Brown, though he is a bit more restrained than one familiar with the movie might expect. When he utters the famous "Great Scott," it's an exclamation all right, but doesn't come across as if his mind is being blown.

George McFly appears as Marty's milquetoast dad in the 1980s and a wimpy human punching bag as a 1950s high school student; from the latter status he must summon the bravado to win the heart of the luscious Lorraine Baines. It's a tall order, and Burke Swanson nails it, with terrific comic delivery, remarkable physical dexterity, and a winning nature that has us rooting for him. Zan Berube is downright depressing as Marty's mother Lorraine, addled by alcohol in the 1980s, but send her back to the 1950s and she is the most bubbly, desirable girl at Hill Valley High. Berube's lovely singing voice lifts the caliber of her two big numbers, "Pretty Baby," and "Something About That Boy." Ethan Rogers is spot on as the hulking bully, Biff Tannen; Kiara Lee sings and dances with flash as Jennifer; and Cartreze Tucker, as a 1950s waiter at a Hill Valley diner who defies the period's racism to achieves great success, stops the show cold with his powerful voice and style on "Gotta Start Somewhere."

You'll have a swell time at Back to the Future: The Musical, quite likely the best good time to be had in the Twin Cities right now. It is not subtle, deep or probing, not laden with social import: just barrels of fun. If I had one of Doc Brown's DeLoreans, I wouldn't mind time-traveling back a few nights and seeing the whole thing again.

Back to the Future: The Musical runs through September 22, 2024, at the Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and the performance schedule call 612-339-7007 or go to hennepintheatretrust.org. For the tour information go to www.backtothefuturemusical.com.

Book: Bob Gale, based on the film written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale; Music and Lyrics: Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, Director: John Rando; Choreographer: Chris Bailey; Orchestrations: Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook; Scenic and Costume Design: Tim Hatley; Lighting Design: Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone; Sound Design: Gareth Owen; Illusion Design: Chris Fischer; Video Design: Finn Ross; Fight Director: Maurice Chan; Wigs, Hair and Make-up: Campbell Young Associates; Music Supervisor, Vocal, and Musical Arrangements: Nick Finlow; Music Director/Conductor: Matt Doebler; Dance Arrangements: David Chase; Music Coordinator: Kristy Norter; Casting: Tara Rubin Casting, Claire Burke, CSA; Production Stage Manager: Eric Sprosty; Associate Director: Taylor Haven Holt; Associate Choreographer: Beth Crandall; Associate Music Supervisor: Ted Arthur.

Cast: Joshua Blackswan Abbott (Reginald/ensemble), Emily Applebaum (swing), Zan Berube (Lorraine Baines), Tade Biesinger (ensemble), Ina Black (ensemble), Brittany Bohn (swing), Caden Brauch (Marty McFly), Luther Brooks IV (ensemble), Alyssa Carol (Babs/ensemble), Jenny Dalyrimple (Clocktower Woman/ensemble), Lucas Hallauer (swing), Laura Sky Herman (Linda McFly/Stella Baines/ensemble), Will Jewett (3-D, ensemble), Ben Lanham (ensemble), Kiara Lee (Jennifer Parker/ensemble), Lee Dwayne P. Mitchell (Starfighter #2/swing ), Luke Anthony Neville (Strickland/Lou Carruthers/Mayor Red Thompson/Sam Baines), Zoe Brooke Reed (Betty/ensemble), Ethan Rogers (Biff Tannen), Don Stephenson (Doc Brown), Fisher Lane Stewart (Dave McFly/Slick), Burke Swanson (George McFly), Ross Thompson (swing), Cartreze Tucker (Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry).