BACK TO THE FUTURE

REVIEW By CELIA IPIOTIS

Cars fly and dancers flip over men’s heads in the youthful Back to the Future. Based on the film that made Michael J. Fox a household name, Back To The Future takes off at the Winter Garden Theater. Based on a book by Bob Gayle to a score and lyrics by Alan Silvestri & Glen Ballard, director John Rando whips this production into a fast paced bubble of time out of mind.

Stuck in teenage mid-life crises, Marty (Casey Likes) watches his father George (a rubbery Hugh Coles) get bullied by his supervisor, Biff (Nathanial Hackmann) and seeks an escape valve. Fortunately, Marty’s pal, the wacky scientist Doc Brown (Roger Bart) devises a DeLorean that travels in time. Toying with the laws of physics, Doc’s time-machine blasts Marty back to 1955, puffer vest, skateboard and all.

Jammed with tons of action, music and dance, the production design by Tim Hatley in constellation with the rock ‘n roll style lighting by Tim Lutkin & Hugh Vanstone, video design by Finn Ross and “illusion designer”  Chris Fisher envelopes the audience in a state of sensory stimulation.

From the start, a pack of outstanding dancers hunch and swing out in jitterbug routines that don’t shy away from overhead flips, and framed by bent kneed steps digging into the ground. The nonstop dance routines choreographed by Chris Biley and US associate choreographer Beth Crandall craft fine details in the men’s slumped shoulders, hovering over toe-heel steps, and tight duets.

Once Marty lands in Hill Valley — part of small town America — he meets his mother, Lorraine (the perky Liana Hunt) and then the story slips into Oedipal territory. Marty is on a mission to ensure his parents kiss at a designated time, otherwise the future will disappear for Marty and his siblings. Harassed by the town bully — a wonderfully muscled and menacing Biff — George struggles to walk let alone invite Lorraine to the school dance. Compounding the difficulty quotient of his mission, Lorraine fancies Marty (yes, her son) instead of the geeky, incessantly awkward George.

There are a few more twists and turns in the predictable, yet amusing story but most importantly, whenever the story line sags, the boisterous dancing bumps up the energy volume.

EYE ON THE ARTS, N Y — Celia Ipiotis