Back to the Future musical to hit London's West End in 2015
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale are reuniting with Jamie Lloyd directing
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Where they’re going they may not need roads, but the producers of a new West End adaptation of Back to the Future are going to have to come up with dazzling pyrotechnics to make a DeLorean look like it has travelled through time.
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creative team behind the 1985 film, are returning to adapt the global hit for the London stage to mark the 30 anniversary.
The idea has received the backing of the original film’s stars Michael J Fox, who played Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd, who played Dr Emmett Brown. Both plan to attend the opening in 2015.
The story of a teenager who accidently travels back in time and has to make sure his mother and father get together, proved box office gold after it was released taking over $381.1m, according to Box Office Mojo.
The producers have called on Paul Kieve to produce the “illusions” a role he carried out for Ghost – The Musical and Matilda. He has also worked with Derren Brown and was “magic consultant” on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
A spokeswoman for the show said the DeLorean, the iconic car used in the film, “will appear and disappear” as part of the show with the trails of fire left behind, as in the film where it goes back in time.
Gale, who co-wrote and co-produced the original, said he and director Zemeckis had been exploring the potential for a stage version for almost a decade and added the “integrity” of the material would be preserved.
They have secured Jamie Lloyd, who recently directed The Pride in London, and new music and lyrics will be written by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, a six-time Grammy winner. Lloyd said he had been a fan of the film since he saw it at the age of five.
“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,” Lloyd said. The show has even hired a skateboarding consultant.
The film spawned two sequels and was even referenced by then President Ronald Reagan in 1986 who quoted the line “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads” in his State of the Union address.
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