It's time to party like it's 1985... or 1955.
“Back to the Future: The Musical,” one of the latest adaptations of a classic film to hit Broadway, retells the story of eccentric scientist Doc Brown and hip teenager Marty McFly and their adventures in the iconic time-travelling DeLorean.
The show hasn't just charmed audiences, however. Roger Bart, who plays Doc Brown, was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. Bart, along with Casey Likes, who plays Marty McFly, spoke with The Culture Show host Jared Bowen about the musical.
The characters of Doc Brown and Marty McFly — originally played by Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox, respectively — are deeply ingrained in the public consciousness. With both characters being so deeply associated with the actors that portrayed them in the film, inhabiting those roles is a difficult task — one that both Bart and Likes are prepared for.
“It's a great head start. You have a great performance to aspire to... You should be intense, you should be surprised, you should be surprising,” said Bart on his performance as Doc Brown. “Casey and I are not ... impersonators by trade, but we are actors, so we can't help but be inspired by these performances.”
“I feel like the first 20 minutes of the show is just reminding the audience that I have seen the same movie they have, and I love Michael J. Fox as much as they do,” added Likes, who plays Marty McFly. “Then, after that, I try to bring them on my own journey of the things that make me 'me.'”
Bart, a Tony winner for his performance as Snoopy in “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” is a seasoned Broadway veteran, while his co-star Likes is far newer to the industry. Much like the relationship between their characters, Bart and Likes have both great chemistry and respect for each other.
“In Casey's case, he's really remarkable,” said Bart. “He shows up and ... he's with it. So, I'm very, very impressed with him. The balance is a very difficult thing ... when you have to sing so high and such hard music, but he's a monster.”
“Roger built this show, he worked on it for years,” said Likes. “Roger doesn't need to be working as hard as he is — he's had an eclectic, beautiful, amazing award-winning career. And he still shows up every day, and very much helps me, teaches me a lot.”
To hear more from Roger Bart and Casey Likes, listen to the full interview above. Listen to The Culture Show daily at 2 p.m. on 89.7.