John StatonWilmington StarNews
If the tech in '80s movie "Back to the Future" was real, Wilmington native JJ Niemann could've hopped in a DeLorean as a teen doing local theater and taken an 88 mph jaunt into a world where he's the star of a Broadway show in New York City.
That show, interestingly enough, would've been "Back to the Future: The Musical," which Niemann has been performing in since June of 2023. His main gig is in the ensemble, but Niemann is also understudying, or "covering," the lead role of Marty McFly, which he's played some 50 times (out of 400 shows) over the past year. He's also a cover for the supporting role of Marty's dad, George McFly.
It's been quite the ascent for Niemann, a graduate of Wilmington's Coastal Christian High School, from doing small parts at Thalian Hall for Opera House Theatre Co. and the Thalian Association in the 2000s and early 2010s, to starring in a musical on one of the biggest stages in the world.
"Sometimes I'm doing (Marty) weekly, and then sometimes you'll go a few weeks without touching it," Niemann said during a phone interview. "One time, this was the week of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, we performed in the parade and then I played George McFly that night. The next day, I played the son, Marty, in the matinee and the father, George, that night."
Niemann said his performance contains a nod to Michael J. Fox's iconic movie portrayal of Marty McFly.
"I actually like to adapt some of his speaking voice," he said. "I add a little bit of raspiness and grit."
In the musical, he said, the time-traveling character Marty "basically doesn't leave the stage. He sings almost every song, whether he's singing it with people or alone. And so it's a beast of a role."
Niemann was 10 years from being born when "Back to the Future" hit theaters in 1985, but he has memories of watching the movie at his aunt's house with his cousins when he "was probably, like, 7 or 8 years old," he said.
Niemann made his Broadway debut in 2017 as an ensemble member and "swing" playing multiple roles in "The Book of Mormon" just a couple of months after graduating from Elon University. When he saw the audition notice about "Back to the Future" coming to Broadway, Niemann said, he practically manifested his involvement.
"I was like, 'I'm going to be in that. I'm meant to do this,'" he said.
That came as no surprise to Ray Kennedy, who's currently on a leave of absence from his role as artistic director of Wilmington's Opera House Theatre Co. He first saw an 11-year-old Niemann perform in 2006 in "Peter Pan."
"I knew he was talented," Kennedy said. "But when I was lucky enough to direct him in 'Hello Dolly' (in 2012) and 'She Loves Me' (in 2013), I knew he was a special and unique talent. And I knew he would end up on Broadway. I told JJ and his parents that and look now! Not just his second Broadway show but starring in 'Back to the Future.'"
Niemann confirmed that it was Kennedy who first put the idea in his mind, and in the minds of his parents, Hendrix and Judi Niemann, that theater could be a career for him after he performed in the ensemble for Opera House's production of "Hairspray" as a 15-year-old in 2010.
During a cast party , Niemann said, Kennedy "pulled my parents aside and said to them, 'Hey, JJ really has what it takes.' That's when we kind of started looking at colleges and taking it seriously."
For "Back to the Future," Niemann does eight shows a week while also taping auditions, making content for his 1 million TikTok and 225,000 Instagram followers, and sometimes also doing readings and workshops for other shows. Recently, he performed in a six-week workshop for Broadway-bound musical "Smash."
Plus, he said, "Because of ('Back to the Future') there's a lot of really fun press opportunities."
He recently got to play Marty during a production of Broadway in Bryant Park, and in June he sang "Back In Time" for Playbill Pride in Times Square.
Then there are the challenges of doing the same show day in and day out for more than a year. When it comes to keeping the show fresh, he said, "It's your responsibility as an actor to continue to find newness and freshness and find the truth. When you get down to the nitty gritty, even in a silly, super-fun family show like 'Back to the Future,' there's still so much heart. If you get back to, 'What does this person or this character truly want in this moment?' it will always inspire you."
His ability to handle those challenges started in Wilmington, Niemann said. Not only did he train with former Broadway performers like the dancer Judy Greenhut, but doing shows with adults, he said, forced him to "rise to their level. I think that was a huge thing."
When he'd do summer shows with Opera House, working with guest artists the company would bring in had a huge impact.
"Like, Erin Sullivan, who had been touring and working for 10 years, coming in to do Elle Woods (in 'Legally Blonde' in 2012), I was like, this is a (woman) who has mastered her craft," he said. "I looked up to these people like they were celebrities. And so I think that, as a kid, I got a sense of, OK, this is how a professional operates. This is how they prepare for these roles. This is how they show up to work. And I think that taught me a lot."
In 2020, Niemann was supposed to come back to Wilmington to do "Newsies" for Opera House, but the pandemic put a stop to that.
"I would still love to come back," he said, "and do a show for a couple of weeks."
Since he's been on Broadway, "So many people from Wilmington and the Wilmington theater community have come up to support, and that means the world," he said. "That's also just a huge testament to the power of community and people rooting for their hometown friends."
