The list of nostalgic films from the 1960s to the 2000s that have been turned into musicals is now quite long, and this has been done with varying degrees of success. The latest to hit the national tour circuit is Back to the Future: The Musical, and I may be in the minority among the theater-going public in wishing it was more than just a spectacle.

In the last few years alone we've had Mean Girls, The Musical; a musical Beetlejuice; a Moulin Rouge musical; a Some Like It Hot musical; and currently on Broadway, Death Becomes Her, the Musical. The allure for Broadway producers is obvious: In the financially dicey realm of musical theater, brand new shows take years and years and tons of money to develop, and don't always connect with audiences, so why not start with some proven material that already has a built-in fanbase?

In the case of Mean Girls, the adaptation by Tina Fey was funny and just slightly different enough from the original movie to make it watchable, but I was no fan of the score and I'd be hard-pressed to remember more than one song from the show. Beetlejuice was quick-witted and hilarious, with a fast-talking title character and plenty of room for updating his quips and improvising on the fly that kept the material feeling fresh — and it's always fascinating to see how a big-scale Broadway production adapts special effects that originated on film.

Back to the Future: The Musical is a clear crowd-pleaser with some dazzling theatrical effects, and there is plenty of delight around answering the question of "How are they going to pull that part off?" But, musically? Let's just say the songs by Glen Ballard, who famously produced Alanis Morrisette's album Jagged Little Pill, and also wrote the music for the Ghost musical, mostly feel like filler, and often lean into the cringe. (The two opening numbers, for instance, titled "It's Only a Matter of Time" and "Got No Future," are way too on the nose.)

The show is led by the talented Lucas Hallauer in the role of Marty McFly, and he bounces around the stage for the run of the show, mugging and singing to the rafters. In the role of Doc Brown, Broadway comedy vet Don Stephenson may be doing more of a Martin Short impression than a Christopher Lloyd impression, but he is nonetheless watchable and game for the antics required.

In the role of Marty's mother Lorraine, Zan Berube is terrific. And Cartreze Tucker gets the show-st0pping number of Act One as Goldie Wilson, taking the audience to church on "Gotta Start Somewhere."

The room was packed for opening night Thursday, with many in the audience dressing up for occasion in Marty's signature red puffer vest — and those who paid for VIP packages got the chance to pose in a replica DeLorean time machine parked in front of the theater.

And attending a show like this makes one feel like the music and the actual quality of the performance is beside the point — it's more like a Disneyland ride based on a movie than a piece of musical theater, more kitsch than it is clever.

In saying that, though, you can't say it's no fun. When the DeLorean motion effects kick into high gear and Doc climbs to the top of the clock tower, you know that's probably worth the price of admission. And Huey Lewis's "The Power of Love" still kind of holds up!

'Back to the Future' plays through March 9th at the Orpheum Theater. Find tickets here.