Back To The Future The Musical to run in London's West in 2020 following a premiere at the Manchester Opera House

Posted on 17 May 2019

Producer of Ghost The Musical Colin Ingram and the creators of the 1985 film Back To The Future, Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, have announced today that Back To The Future The Musical is set to open at the Manchester Opera House on 20 February 2020 for a 12-week run that will end on 17 May 2020 before transferring to London. The venue for the West End run along with performance dates have yet to be confirmed.

Back To The Future: The West End musical of tomorrow

The Back To The Future musical has been six years in the making and will finally be revving up its DeLorean engine for UK audiences next year! The spectacular new production features a book by Bob Gale, and new lyrics and music by the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Alan Silvestri and six-time Grammy Award winner Glen Ballard, with additional songs from the movie including 'Johnny B. Goode' and 'The Power of Love'.

What is the Back To The Future musical about?

Back To The Future The Musical is based on the 1985 film of the name, which starred Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. The film became a blockbuster smash, having grossed £279 million worldwide at the box office. After spawning two sequels, together the Back To The Future trilogy grossed over £1.4 billion at the box office when adjusted for inflation.

The musical follows Marty McFly, a heavy metal lover who mistakenly travels back in time to the year 1955 when his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, takes his newly invented, time-travelling DeLorean for a test drive. Before they can return to their own time in 1985, Marty must ensure that his own high schooler parents fall in love to preserve his future existence.

The plot of Back To The Future has been parodied many times, including in the Futurama episode 'Roswell That Ends Well', which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.

Who is starring Back To The Future The Musical?

The Manchester Opera House premiere of Back To The Future is set to star Olly Dobson in the role of Marty McFly. It is unclear at press time whether he will reprise his role for the West End transfer. Further casting will be announced in due course.

All cast members from the original film have expressed their excitement for the new musical adaptation. Christopher Lloyd, who originated the role of Doc Brown in the film, issued a statement saying that he had been anxiously wondering what the Doc would sound like whilst singing and that his only regret was that he didn't have a DeLorean so that he could see the show tomorrow.

Back To The Future musical creatives

The musical theatre adaptation of Back To The Future will be directed by Tony Award-winning director John Rando (On The Town, Urinetown, Jerry Springer - The Opera, Gettin' the Band Back Together) and boasts a multi-Olivier and Tony Award-winning design team that features set and costume design by Tim Hatley, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Gareth Owen, and video design by Finn Ross. The show also features choreography by Chris Bailey, illusions by Paul Kieve, orchestrations by Ethan Popp, dance arrangements by David Chase, and musical supervision and vocal arrangements by Nick Finlow.

Back To The Future is produced by Augury in association with Herman-Adelman, Bob Gale, CJ ENM, Colin Ingram, Crush Music, Donovan Mannato, Frankel/Viertel/Baruch/Routh Group, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions, Hunter Arnold, Kimberly Magarro, Ricardo Marques, Robert L. Hutt, Robert Zemeckis, and Teresa Tsai.

Robert Zemeckis directed the entire Back To The Future trilogy and is also known for directing the Oscar Award-winning film, Forrest Gump, as well as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Romancing the Stone, A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey, The Polar Express, Flight, Cast Away starring Tom Hanks, and What Lies Beneath starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford.

Bob Gale is a long-standing collaborator with Robert Zemeckis and together they co-wrote and co-produced the Back To The Future film trilogy. In addition to screenwriting, Gale has also written for comic book issues of The Amazing Spider-Man and Batman.

Alan Silvestri first collaborated with Robert Zemeckis on the 1984 film, Romancing the Stone, and went on to compose the score for all of Zemeckis's films. Silvestri is a two-time Grammy Award winner, having took home the awards for Cast Away and The Polar Express.

Glen Ballard is a six-time Grammy Award-winning artist with over 150 million records sold worldwide. He has worked with the likes of Katy Perry, Aretha Franklin, Van Halen, and Aerosmith and co-wrote Alanis Morissette's multi-platinum album, Jagged Little Pill, which has recently been adapted into a Broadway jukebox musical. He co-wrote 'Believe' with Alan Silvestri for The Polar Express as well as 'A Here Comes Home' for Beowulf starring Angelina Jolie and 'Ordinary Miracle' for Charlotte's Web. He also co-wrote the lyrics and music for Ghost The Musical with Dave Stewart.

Back To The Future West End musical tickets coming soon!

The musical may not be transferring to London's West End until 2020, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't anticipate tickets going on sale soon! Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular news on Back To The Future, including performance dates and on-sale dates, so that you can be among the first to book the best seats as soon as Back To The Future tickets become available!

Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels

By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels

Ephram is a jack of all trades and enjoys attending theatre, classical music concerts and the opera.