‘Honoring the legacy’: ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’ brings spectacle from timeless film to the stage

Actor Mike Bindeman has enjoyed the perks that come with touring a major Broadway production. He’s formed lasting friendships, basked in the thunderous applause of standing ovations and has been able to shave a few strokes off his golf game.

“One of the great gifts of touring is that you can bring your golf clubs and play golf courses all across the country, which is kind of what I’ve done,” Bindeman said.

Bindeman will come through the Lilac City – with his clubs in tow – as “Back to the Future: the Musical” heads to the FICA next week. Bindeman brings an empathetic approach to his portrayal of the anxious loner, George McFly.

Based on the first installment of Robert Zemeckis’ classic trilogy, “Back to the Future: The Musical” follows teenager Marty McFly after he accidentally gets sent back to 1955 by the eccentric Doc Brown and realizes he needs to ensure that his parents fall in love in order to save his existence.

The musical brings the film’s iconic moments to life and is packed with musical numbers that will make audiences want to get out of their seats and bop along, Bindeman said.

“Not to spoil anything, but there is a DeLorean involved,” Bindeman said.

A Chicago native and Baldwin Wallace University theater program graduate – where he paid his way through by being a golf caddy for 10 years – Bindeman is no stranger to theater. He now resides in New York City, where he moved a day after graduation. He caught his stride in the industry when he landed a part in a Long Island production of “Grease” in 2023.

Bindeman joined the “Back to the Future: The Musical” production in December 2024 and was on tour 48 of the 52 weeks of last year, he said.

Although the Zemeckis film is the poster child for the time-travel genre, Bindeman can’t remember the first time he watched it.

“By the time I was 10, I feel like I knew every plot point just kind of through cultural osmosis,” he said.

The musical adaptation tends to lean into the campiness and cheesiness of the movie, allowing Bindeman to stretch his legs in physical comedy.

“That’s always been something that I’ve kind of gravitated towards. I’m tall and lanky,” he said. “And so, you know, when you have real long arms and you’re dancing, it does look a little funny.”

Bindeman carefully crafted his portrayal to make sure that George’s buffoonery doesn’t undermine the heart of the character: an outcast shy teenager who yearns for connection, Bindeman said.

“Marty comes along and suddenly you’re watching someone find their first friend. And so it really resonated with me just from a place of like that feeling of wanting connection,” Bindeman said. “I think that’s a feeling that everyone can relate to, and I think that’s why the character works so well.”

The production wanted the cast to make the roles their own, rather than try to duplicate the film’s roles that left large loafers to fill, Bindeman said.

“There’s some characteristics that we incorporate from the original movie, but we’re encouraged to take the material from the movie and put our own kind of personality and take on it,” he said.

The musical has moments that poke fun at the film, but it comes from a place of sincerity and doesn’t take the spotlight, Bindeman said.

“It’s really about honoring the legacy of the movies and taking it and interpreting it in a new way … I think if you let it get too kind of clowny or campy, it loses its heart,” he said.

The spectacle of the production value will surely get the audience buzzing as soon as the curtains go up, Bindeman said. The show has been touring with 11 semi-trucks packed to the brim with stage pieces, each piece drawing plenty of “oohs” and “aahs” from the audience.

“Audiences are amazed every time,” he said. “There are some special effects that will blow your mind.”

Local audiences have the opportunity to be enthralled by this endearing campiness just like they were when they first watched the timeless film. Going to the theater offers a viewing experience that streaming services won’t ever replicate, Bindeman said.

“There’s something very unique about the communal experience of theater … you’re surrounded by, you know, in these houses, a couple thousand other people,” he said, “and so I think that that communal joy that can come from it is much greater than what you’re going to get if you’re just watching something on TV.”