BACK TO THE FUTURE Musical Hitting London 2015

Great Scott! Iconic film to become West End musical…

It has been announced that a stage musical adaptation of sci-fi blockbuster ‘Back to the Future’ is in development, with plans to premiere in London’s West End in 2015, coinciding with the film’s 30th Anniversary.

Director Robert Zemeckis and his ‘Back to the Future’ co-writer Bob Gale will write the book with Award-winning stage director Jamie Lloyd, who will take the reins of the stage production. Alan Silvestri, composer on the original film, and Glen Ballard (‘Ghost The Musical’) will pen additional music alongside songs from the movie like ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ and the Huey Lewis and the News track ‘The Power of Love.’

“The Back to the Future Musical is a project that Bob Zemeckis and I have been exploring for almost ten years. We’re thrilled to be at last in partnership with a creative and producing team that will create a show that is true to the spirit of the film without being a slavish remake,” said Gale via BTTF.com. “With all of us working together, we know the integrity of the material will be preserved in a production that will be a wonderful companion to the Trilogy. We intend to use music from the movie along with brand new songs to make a version of Back to the Future that is fresh, entertaining, and takes advantage of all the amazing things that can now be done on stage. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film.”

Lloyd added, “Rather than attempt to recreate such an iconic movie on stage, we have assembled a brilliant artistic team to discover a unique theatrical language to take audiences on a journey through time in a vibrant, unexpected way. The production will include illusions, skateboarding and many other surprises that will capture the spirit of the film but freshly interpret it for a new audience. Steven Spielberg once described the film as a musical and whilst we are incorporating some of the original, exhilarating score and songs, Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard’s witty, infectious and heartfelt new songs are the perfect springboard to tell this uplifting story anew.”

A Broadway expansion is possible if the West End run proves successful.

‘Back to the Future’ the movie was released in 1985 and starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a teenager who is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd). Once there, he meets his high school-aged parents, but his presence throws things out-of-whack, and Marty must ensure they fall in love in order to save his own existence.

The iconic film took $360.6 million at the box office worldwide and the total box office for all three films in the sci-fi comedy franchise was $936.6 million (over $1.8 billion in today’s money).