I don’t know about you, but whenever I watch a theatre show, I’m always left wondering how exactly they pull it off.
Well, I finally got the answers to all of my questions when I was able to go backstage at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.
The Broadway and West End hit, Back to the Future: The Musical, has made its long-awaited Australian debut, and I was given an exclusive peek behind the curtain.
And let me tell you – it more than lived up to the hype! It was absolutely sensational.
If you’ve seen the 1985 cult classic, you won’t need any preamble about the iconic plot, but for the few who are Back to the Future newbies, here’s a little teaser.
Much like the original movie, written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, it follows Marty McFly and Doc Brown as their time-travelling adventures suddenly go awry.
Marty finds himself thrown back in time in a modified DeLorean car, where he meets young versions of his parents and must find Doc so he can (you guessed it) go back to the future.
Adding some extra tension, Marty also has to make sure his parents meet to save his own future and find a way to save Doc’s life.
The musical remains very loyal to the original source material, with few changes made – other than the addition of a whole host of upbeat and catchy musical tracks, of course.
And the first stop on my one-off tour was an exclusive sneak peek at some of those fun-filled anthems, which had me tapping my feet right along to the beat.
From elaborate props to flawless dance numbers, I was already wondering what went on behind the curtain – and I was about to find out.
But first, the man behind the world-famous franchise, Bob Gale himself, was there to share some poignant words about the musical’s arrival Down Under.
Many fans might wonder why Back to the Future continued in the form of a stage musical, rather than adding a fourth blockbuster movie to the franchise.
But Bob, 74, set the record straight as he poignantly admitted they wouldn’t want to create any more movies without Michael J Fox.
Michael, 64, famed for playing Marty, starred in the first three movies, but was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 when he was 29 years old, and retired from acting in 2020.
Bob said the stage musical, which recreates the original story, felt like a way to honour Michael’s legacy without carrying on the film franchise in his absence.
“We didn’t want to do Back to the Future four for a number of reasons,” Bob explained. “Who wants to see a Back to the Future movie without Michael J Fox, right?”
Instead, a number of young theatre actors have stepped into Marty’s shoes and made sure to honour the legacy left behind by Michael’s beloved character.
In Sydney, rising Australian star Axel Duffy has become the latest actor to embody Marty, alongside American film star Roger Bart as Doc Brown.
And he is very aware of the honour that has been bestowed upon him, even though (much like myself, I must add) he wasn’t born when the 1985 movie came out.
“I missed out on watching the movies as they came out, but we get to experience the magic of the movie in a way for the first time, which is really cool,” he exclusively told New Idea.
I was able to chat to both Axel and Roger backstage, and they answered all of my burning questions about the most difficult parts of starring in the stage show.
Roger admitted it is no mean feat taking to the stage every night, citing the fitness levels needed to perform live as the biggest challenge of theatre.
“The biggest challenge for the actors, with any big musical, is the athleticism involved,” Roger explained.
“Everyone in this building, we go around all year round while everyone else is having holidays, we are part of the holiday!”
He also noted that there is an added pressure with Back to the Future to recreate the “magic” of the movie, which Axel firmly agreed with.
“The expectation people have of the characters and of the storyline, and meeting those, while putting a fresh spin on it as well,” he added.
And with a time-travelling and, at one point, flying car to contend with, you might be scratching your head, wondering if they’ll actually manage to pull it off.
“Most people say, ‘wait a minute, you’ve got a DeLorean on there that does some pretty cool stuff, how are you going to do that?'” Roger admitted.
“[But] to have answered that, I think, is some of the excitement but also a big challenge.”
Though I could never understand the pressure of performing live in front of thousands of theatregoers, I got a small glimpse at the magnitude of the task while standing on the stage.
Even with the curtain firmly shut, looking at the sheer quantity of work that goes on in the wings was extraordinary.
My first stop was, of course, to take a look at all the 80s-inspired costumes.
It was clear the amount of work that went into creating the brightly-coloured and extravagant pieces, though I still don’t understand quite how they pull off the quick changes behind the scenes.
Needless to say, I didn’t give it a try myself; I’ll leave that to the professionals.
I also got a close-up look at some of the show’s most iconic props, from the yellow Chiquita guitar that Marty uses to shred through his giant amp, to Doc’s film camera.
I also resisted the urge to hop on Marty’s iconic skateboard, though there was another vehicle I was allowed to try out myself.
Yes, you guessed it, I got to sit in the driver’s seat of the world-famous, retrofitted DeLorean.
With lights flashing and the flux capacitor in hand, all that was left was to reach 88 miles per hour!
But (spoilers), I didn’t hit that all-important speed and travel back to 1955, though I did achieve every film buff’s dream with my turn inside the DeLorean.
I was almost Outtatime on my chance behind the scenes, but I must say, I was left extremely impressed with the polished look of the vehicle.
As for how they pull off getting the prop to travel through time, and whether it takes flight at the end like the movie, you’ll have to wait and see for yourself.
Back to the Future: The Musical will be on stage at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre until January 25, 2026, and you can get your tickets here.
