For those who are fans of the seminal 1985 time travel spectacular Back to the Future, but maybe thought it needed more singing and dancing, today’s your lucky day. Bob Gale, the screenwriter who brought all three films of the Future trilogy to the screen, has announced that he, along with Robert Zemeckis, is bringing a Back to the Future Musical to London’s West End Theater.
In the announcement, posted on BTTF.com, Gale said that he and Zemeckis have been working on the musical for over a decade, and have created a show that “captures the spirit of the film without being a slavish remake.” You will give us an Enchantment Under the Sea dance break, Gale. You will give it to us now.
Directed by Jamie Lloyd with songs by Alan Silvestri (the composer of the film’s original score) and lyrics by Glen Ballard (a frequent Zemeckis collaborator and six-time Grammy winner), the musical is expected to hit the famed West End in 2015. The show will feature songs from the movie as well as original works in order to transform the film into a stage musical. The details of what those original songs will entail are kept under wraps for now, but envision a “Doc Brown explaining how the flux capacitor works before the terrorists arrive” musical number and try and pretend like you’re not excited. The wigs! The smoke machines! Razzle dazzle!
To accompany those original numbers, the music derived from the movie will include songs from Huey Lewis & the News, Chuck Berry (meaning we’re getting the “Johnny B Goode” number we rightly deserve), Pat Ballard and Curtis Williams. With the original creative team on board, the musical is the closest thing the world will get to that never-gonna-happen fourth Back to the Future film. Think of this as an alternate reality, where Marty takes the DeLorean to a time where everyone can’t stop singing and dancing. Aw, geez, Mom.
Worth noting – not sure if it was a deliberate choice or not, but 2015 is the year that Marty travels to the future in the second film. Clever anniversary marketing, team. Though you’ll have to go to London to see the show, there’s always the chance that a successful run could mean a transfer to New York sometime…in the future.
Related Topics: Back to the Future
