TV Obsessive
Sometimes I find myself thinking about the scene in Back to the Future where Marty tries to order a soda and how it hangs on back-to-back jokes about brands of cola that don’t exist anymore. I wonder if those jokes are in the musical version. Perhaps I should ask Cat, whose recommendation really makes me want to go catch the show on Broadway.
Our other entry this week is from Joel, who’s plugging Detroiters (which features Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson). So we’ve got music and comedy for you, and good times all around. Enjoy!
Back to the Future: The Musical Recommendation
Cat Smith: When my dad told me he got us tickets to see the West End production of Back to the Future, THE MUSICAL, on our trip to London last October, my reaction was “um…okay”. I realize that turning movies into musicals is what we do these days, but of all the movies in the world that I didn’t think would translate to stage, Back to the Future would have been at the top of that list, had I ever thought to make one. And Great Scott, was I wrong. Y’all, the show was freaking ADORABLE, and now it is coming to Broadway.
Previews start this summer, and tickets are already on sale. Roger Bart (Doc Brown) and Hugh Coles (George McFly) will be reprising their roles from the West End production, which delights me no end. Bart is always amazing, and Coles was not only fantastic, he was scarily Crispin Glover-ish. The score has lyrics by Glen Ballard, and the music is by Alan Silvestri himself (he’s the guy who did the score for the films). If they do here what they did in London, the Winter Garden Theater can expect a bit of an internal makeover—they did a whole thing with lights, and between that, projections, and hydraulics, you would swear that the DeLorean was really going 88 mph.
The cast album has been available for download for a while, and I really recommend that too. Long before I was any other kind of nerd, I was a theatre nerd, so when I saw the DeLorean at New York Comic Con recently, it tickled me no end that not only was it there to celebrate the whole BttF celebrity thing with Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd, it was also there to pimp the musical. Trust me, when previews start in June…you’re gonna see some serious sh*t.
TV Recommendation: Detroiters
Joel Kananen: For those who have a I Think You Should Leave-sized hole in your streaming schedule, Detroiters is the show for you. The dynamite duo of Sam Richardson, a key player in ITYSL and the Tim Robinson, the head honcho of ITYSL, are let loose on the world of Detroit based commercial advertising. Hot-dogs for breakfast, dead human hair wigs, and hustling at the family reunion are just some of the gold mined from the minds of the shows stars and creators.
The bits are hilarious, wacky, and unexpected. The incredibly specific references to Detroit culture are amazing, and somehow feel universal because of the performances by Robinson and Richardson. The two stars of the show are real life best friends, and the chemistry and ability to play off one another is top-notch. Running for two seasons on Comedy Central, Detroiters is now available to stream in full on Paramount+.
