3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Having already seen this in London in January, I had been itching for the opportunity to watch the Sydney Back To The Future for many months. The memory of that first experience was so strong and good that I was quite excited about Round Two. But, in the end, Sydney didn’t fully hit the spot in comparison and since then I have been asking myself, “Why?”
Indeed, “why?”, because there was still so much about it that was amazing. I know others have criticised the songs, but I liked them. They suit the story and are suitably toe-tapping. So it wasn’t that key part of a musical that let me down.
Nor was it the two lead roles, because they were brilliant. Axel Duffy (Marty) and Roger Bart (Doc) were first class. They carried the show and without them it would have suffered. What a treat to have Bart in Australia. Both he and Duffy paid attention to detail, performed with energy and confidence, consistently giving it their all. They were funny and nuanced, and brilliant singers.
The ensemble was great too, with high energy, colourful dancing, and plenty of action and smiles.
But other members of the cast weren’t acting with a full 100% like I have seen in other shows. You know when they seem to be only acting as if the audience was further away? But from my front row seat I could tell the difference, particularly in the “Is Anybody Home” song, which should have been one of the best bits. Some singing made me nervous too, like in “Wherever We’re Going”, where I wasn’t sure they would get to where the notes were going. They survived but it was not convincing.
Another issue from the front row was that the effects lost their, well, effect, particularly in the climax of the show when Doc climbed the clock tower and then the car at the very end. Maybe this was partly because I had seen it before too.
For the first time ever at a professional production, I could also see the wings backstage from my seat. I sat in seat AA42 with five people further out still to my right and regularly saw the stage hand, headset on, in the wings getting sets and props ready to go, or cast members standing by on the sliding sets. I forgive this at my kids’ school shows, and whilst I actually found it interesting as a backstage nerd, it’s not meant to happen.
The MD seemed to be just doing his job, compared to the one from Mormon the night before who was smiling and having a great time working with the cast for the full show.
Then to top it all off in the finale, an usher pushed her way past us, I think, to tell somebody off for filming. It was meant to be the biggest moment of the show but it became interrupted and all a bit of a shame.
One of these details alone wouldn’t have been such a dampener but when they combined it really affected the experience. It felt more of just a production rather than being swept away into a dreamland like theatre is meant to be.
There are some shows where each time you go back it gets better because you are familiar, you notice different details, and know when your favourite parts are coming. But with Back To The Future, it ended up being dangerous to go again as the “first time” wow factor never came back.
