Get ready to turn your flux capacitor on. Back to the Future, the highest-grossing film of 1985, has been made into a musical and has opened on Broadway in 2023. The new production, from original creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and the combined eight-time Grammy Award-winning pairing of Alan Silvestri and 6x Grammy winner Glen Ballard, received mixed reviews upon its August 3 opening. The New York Times, whose reviews often make-or-break theatrical productions, gave the show mixed signals, raving about the “terrific” DeLorean DMC that’s central to the show’s time travel plot device. However, it described the rest of the show as “mechanical, busy, distracting, foggy.” The 17 new songs are “tuneful and in a few cases rousing” but “generic.” The Hollywood Reporter was far more charitable in its review. “It’s a terrifically fun and amusing story that works nearly as well onstage as it did on film.” And, “Where the show pulls out the stops is with its technical elements, including dazzling projections, special effects and innovative sound and lighting designs to give the production the feel of a, no surprise here, theme-park attraction.”
USA Today also focused its review on the show-stealing DeLorean. “It’s a jaw-dropping spectacle that may win over even the most skeptical of New York theatergoers… If only the rest of the show could reach such heights.” Variety opened its review with, “Yogi Berra said the future ain’t what it used to be. We know how he feels.” Its critic added that for those “seeking re-imaginings more than repeats, [the musical] will seem more fitting for a theme park than Broadway.”
The production made its debut on the London stage on May 14, 2021, where it won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. In its review of the London production, The Telegraph raved, “Magnificent! A feelgood triumph!” Tickets for the production at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End are available here. Tickets to the Broadway production are available here.
Watch the official trailer for the London production
The original film starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover. It was made for a reported $19 million and opened on July 3, 1985. It became a worldwide cultural phenomenon, earning $389 million and became one of the most successful franchises in Universal’s history, including two film sequels, an animated television series, a theme park ride and more.
Fox and Thompson were both just 24-years-old when it opened. In February 2023, much of the original cast reunited at a fan expo in Portland, Ore. “Wow honestly had the best time today with my #bttf family,” Thompson wrote when she posted a series of photos on Instagram.
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Back to the Future – The Musical offers an all-new score alongside the movie’s iconic hits including “The Power of Love,” “Johnny B Goode,” “Earth Angel” and “Back in Time.”
The music and lyrics for the new production come from Silvestri (who has composed for dozens of films and earned an Academy Award nomination for scoring Forrest Gump) and Ballard (producer and co-writer of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill).
“The Power of Love” became the first #1 hit for Huey Lewis and the News. The popular singer, despite a hearing loss that he revealed in 2018, released a new album, Weather, in 2019.
The original film has been inducted into the National Film Registry, having been deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” and deserving of preservation by the Library of Congress.
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