Great Scott! Back to the Future the Musical at the Keller Auditorium

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Some movies feel almost impossible to adapt for the stage, and Back to the Future is one of them.

Between the time travel, the iconic DeLorean, the special effects, and a story that has been beloved for decades, it would be easy for a theatrical adaptation to feel gimmicky or like a watered-down version of the film. Instead, Back to the Future: The Musical accomplishes something remarkable. It takes everything audiences love about the original movie and transforms it into a high-energy, visually stunning Broadway experience that feels both nostalgic and completely fresh.

While watching this show at the Keller Auditorium, one thing quickly became abundantly clear: this isn’t just another movie-turned-musical. It’s one of the most technologically impressive productions my husband and I have ever seen on stage!

From the moment Marty McFly finds himself hurtling back to 1955, the audience is taken along for the ride. Fans of the film will instantly recognize favorite moments, beloved characters, and iconic lines, while newcomers can easily follow the story’s blend of comedy, adventure, and heart. The adaptation remains remarkably faithful to the source material while still finding creative ways to make the story work within a musical format.

And somehow, it works beautifully.

One of the biggest surprises of the evening was how naturally the music fit into the world of Back to the Future. The musical numbers never felt forced or unnecessary. Instead, they helped expand character relationships and emotional (or, comical, in many cases) moments while maintaining the fast-paced energy that made the original film such a classic.

The cast deserves enormous praise for bringing these iconic characters to life. Taking on roles that audiences already know and love is no small task, yet every performer fully embraced their character while making the role their own. Marty captured the perfect balance of teenage confidence, humor, and vulnerability, while Doc Brown delivered the eccentric brilliance and infectious enthusiasm that fans expected.

The chemistry between the cast members was evident throughout the production, helping the audience become fully invested in both the story and the characters. Whether delivering laugh-out-loud comedic moments or the more heartfelt scenes at the center of the story, the performances remained engaging from beginning to end.

But as excellent as the cast and music were, the true star of the evening may have been the production itself.

I’ve attended many elaborate Broadway shows over the years, and I can honestly say I’ve never found myself wondering “How did they do that?” quite as often as I did during Back to the Future. (The ending scene? Holy crap!)

The combination of lighting, projections, set design, automation, and special effects created moments that genuinely felt impossible. Scene transitions happened seamlessly, locations transformed before the audience’s eyes without you even realizing it half the time, and the production constantly pushed the boundaries of what feels achievable in live theater.

There were multiple moments throughout the evening where the audience audibly reacted to the effects unfolding on stage. Gasps, laughter, applause, and plenty of wide-eyed disbelief could be felt throughout the auditorium as one jaw-dropping sequence followed another.

It’s rare these days to experience a theatrical moment that feels truly surprising, especially when audiences have access to endless digital effects in movies and television. Yet Back to the Future: The Musical manages to create genuine wonder. The show’s biggest technical moments left the audience cheering, applauding, and collectively asking the same question: “How in the world did they pull that off?”

What makes the production even more impressive is that all of the technology served the story rather than distracting from it. The visual spectacle enhances the adventure without overshadowing the characters at its heart- no other show could have pulled this off. But beneath the special effects and time-travel chaos is still the story audiences have loved for forty years: a story about family, friendship, courage, and believing in your own future.

If it’s been on your bucket list, you’d better snag tickets as quickly as possible, because we are their LAST stop for the entire North American tour! Whether you’re a lifelong fan of Marty McFly and Doc Brown or experiencing the story for the very first time, this production offers an unforgettable night at the theater. I truly couldn’t recommend it more.

Ticket & Show Info:

Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Tuesday, June 16 — 7:30 PM

Wednesday, June 17 — 7:30 PM

Thursday, June 18 — 7:30 PM (American Sign Language Interpreted Performance)

Friday, June 19 — 7:30 PM (Audio Description Available)

Saturday, June 20 — 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM

Sunday, June 21 — 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM (Open Caption Performance)

(PORTLAND, OR) — Lead producer Colin Ingram together with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creators of the Back to the Future film trilogy, and Broadway in Portland are thrilled to announce that BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical will arrive in Portland as part of the 2025-26 Broadway Season. This spectacular live experience based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film has thrilled millions worldwide with its destination now set for Keller Auditorium from June 16 – 21.

Tickets go on sale on Monday, February 9, and will be available at www.BroadwayinPortland.com.

The nostalgia-rich Broadway production played an impressive 18-month run at the Winter Garden from August 3, 2023, through January 5, 2025. That production is moving to Hamburg, Germany starting March 2026 for an open-ended run with more territories to be announced soon. Now in its fourth-year captivating audiences in London’s West End, BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical recently launched a successful production in Tokyo, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, and in Sydney, Australia at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The musical will launch a UK tour, opening at the Bristol Hippodrome, in the fall of 2026.

The critically acclaimed West End production of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical officially opened in London on September 13, 2021, has been seen by more than 1,800,000 people to date, and broken multiple Adelphi Theatre box office records. The production won the Best New Musical Olivier Award as well as multiple WhatsOnStage Awards and a Broadway World Award for Best New Musical. BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical had its world premiere at the Manchester Opera House on March 11, 2020.  

“THE AUDIENCE GOES WILD!” – The New York Times

Marty McFly is a rock ‘n’ roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown. But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence.

Based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical has a book by Bob Gale, new music and lyrics by Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award-winning Glen Ballard, with additional songs from the film including “The Power of Love” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Bob Gale is the co-creator and co-writer of the Back to the Future film trilogy and Alan Silvestri composed the iconic film score for the series.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is directed by Tony Award® winner John Rando and features a multi-Tony and Olivier Award-winning design team that includes Tim Hatley (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone (lighting), Gareth Owen (sound) and Finn Ross (video), with choreography by Chris Bailey, musical supervision and arrangements by Nick Finlow, illusions by Chris Fisher, orchestrations by Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook, dance arrangements by David Chase, and casting by Tara Rubin. Bespoke Theatricals serves as General Manager.

“A JAW-DROPPING SPECTACLE THAT HITS ALL THE RIGHT BUTTONS!” – USA Today

Bob Gale said, “To paraphrase Marty McFly, you guys are ready for this, and your kids are gonna love it (too)! If Bob Zemeckis and I time traveled back to 1980 and told our younger selves that the script they were struggling to write would become a Broadway musical 43 years later, they’d kick us out of their office and call us crazy. Well, sometimes, crazy ideas give birth to great entertainment, and now Bob and I are eager to share our musical vision with audiences worldwide. Regardless of whether you’ve seen the original film, BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical, with its outstanding performances and incredible stagecraft, will delight and enthrall you, your kids, your parents, and everyone you know!”

Lead Producer Colin Ingram said, “BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is delighting audiences throughout North America and on has sold more than 600,000 tickets.  Marty, Doc and all at Hill Valley can’t wait to continue this tour across North America thrilling audiences with this heartfelt story and stagecraft that has not been attempted before.”

The Original Cast Recording of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is available from Sony Masterworks Broadway in all formats, including vinyl. (https://soundtracks.lnk.to/BTTFAlbum) A deluxe 2-disc edition of the Original Cast Recording featuring never heard before demos of the songs from the musical was released by Sony Masterworks Broadway on June 30, 2021.

A 240-page hardcover book, Creating Back to the Future The Musical by Michael Klastorin, the official behind-the-scenes companion to the stage musical adaptation of Back to the Future, published by Abrams Books, was released July 3, 2023. Orders can be made at abramsbooks.com.

Back to the Future the film was released in 1985, starring Michael J. Fox as “Marty McFly” and Christopher Lloyd as “Dr. Emmett Brown.” The film grossed $360.6 million at the box office worldwide and the total box office for all three films in the Back to the Future franchise was $936.6 million (over $1.8 billion in today’s money).

The performance schedule for the Portland engagement of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is:

Broadway in Portland is a partnership between Portland Opera and Broadway Across America.