Don Stephenson and Lucas Hallauer Photo by McLeod9 Creative

When music is a core element, whether it's part of the plot (Moulin Rouge, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Once) or merely a key part of the setting, a musical can turn existing intellectual property in to a new revenue stream. So it's no surprise that producers would seize upon the movie Back to the Future as fodder for a new musical. After opening in the U.K. (where it is scheduled to play until July), and a year-and-a-half run on Broadway, the touring has company pulled into BroadwaySF's Orpheum Theatre, where Back to the Future: The Musical opened Thursday night.

Although there is some music in the source material–the band playing at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance where Marty McFly's parents first kissed is led by a fictional cousin of Chuck Berry, and Huey Lewis's "The Power of Love" closes the film–it's primarily the story of Marty McFly's journey to 1955 and his efforts to get back to the future.

Marty, played here by an energetic Lucas Hallauer, lives in Hill Valley, California and is friends with local mad scientist Doc Brown (Don Stephenson). One afternoon, while stopping in at Doc's place to plug his guitar (Marty is a budding rock star) into Doc's giant amp, he gets a message from Doc to meet him in the parking lot at the local mall at 1:15am. The story is set in 1985, and the town is filled with references to that time: a J.C. Penney anchors the mall, we see ads for Fox Photo's one-hour development and a video rental store, and the chorus is clad in '80s garb: neon colors, leg warmers, etc.

That night, in a glorious flash of special effects (by Illusion Designer Chris Fisher), Doc appears in his time machine, a converted DeLorean. Thrilled that his invention is a success–in the song "It Works"–Doc is nonetheless set back by the fact that his radiation suit failed to adequately protect him from the car's plutonium fuel. As he begins to exhibit greenish glows, Marty jumps in the car to go get help, but reaches the time machine's activation speed of 88 miles per hour and is transported to a barn in Hill Valley–in 1955.

There, Marty discovers that his father, George McFly (Mike Bindeman), is just as cowed by town bully Biff (Ethan Rogers) in 1955 as he is in 1985. A fall from a tree leaves Marty unconscious and he wakes up in the childhood home of his future mother, Lorraine (Zan Berube), who immediately falls in love with the boy she assumes is named Calvin Klein because of the name on the waistband of his underwear.

This causes a rift in the space-time continuum, and when he meets up with the younger Doc Brown (who is thrilled to discover his flux capacitor works), he's told if he doesn't get Lorraine to fall out of love with Marty and in love with George McFly, Marty and his brother and sister will be wiped out of existence.

It's not exactly a spoiler to say that Marty will in fact make it back to 1985 and that things will have changed for the better for Marty and his family–and for Doc. The bigger question is whether you ought to join Marty on his journey across the decades.

If you're a fan of the film, you might enjoy Back to the Future: The Musical. The effects are terrific and, while the cast may overplay their roles a bit, it's all in service of a story that is itself a little over the top. As Marty, Hallauer boasts a solid rock voice, fitting nicely into the 1980s-tinged music that makes up much of the score. The best songs, however, come when the cast is caught in 1955, and the music reflects that era's sensibilities. "Pretty Baby" was my favorite number of the show, feeling like something The Shirelles or The Chiffons might have recorded.

Overall, Back to the Future: The Musical is a little too frenetic, the performances a little overdone for my taste, and it's probably too clever by half, but if you're looking for a big, flashy musical to take the kids to, this might be just the thing for your future.

Back to the Future: The Musical runs through March 9, 2025, at BroadwaySF's Orpheum Theatre, 1182 Market Street, San Francisco CA. Performances are Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00pm. Tickets range from $60-$254. For tickets and information, please call the box office at 888-746-1799 or visit broadwaysf.com. For information on the tour, visit www.backtothefuturemusical.com/northamerica/