Great Scott! The Olivier Award-winning musical adaptation of the 1985 classic, Back to the Future, is making its Broadway bow next summer when previews begin at the Winter Garden Theatre. Actors Roger Bart and Hugh Coles are reprising their roles from the London production.
Bart plays Doctor Emmett Brown, and Coles will portray the role of George McFly, father of the lead character, Marty McFly. The role of Marty, as played iconically by Michael J. Fox, will be announced soon, along with additional casting. Producers of the show made the announcement today, coinciding with what has come to be known as Back to the Future Day - the date that was the setting of Back to the Future Part II, when Marty and Doc Brown travelled into the future.
The show opened on March 11, 2020 in preview form in Manchester, England. Five days later, previews were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show transferred to the West End in London, where it opened on September 13, 2021. The production design received unanimous praise, and the show was nominated for seven Olivier awards, ultimately winning one.
Coles and Bart have been involved in the production since its inception. Coles most recently appeared in Death in Paradise and Atlanta. Bart is an actor of stage and screen, and the winner of multiple awards, including a Tony Award for his performance as Snoopy in the 1999 revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He has also won a Screen Actors Guild award, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his performance of the song "Go the Distance" from the 1997 film Hercules. He has appeared in many films, including The Stepford Wives, The Producers and Trumbo, and had a recurring role in the ABC soap Desperate Housewives.
The musical has an accompanying book, written by Bob Gale, who co-created and co-wrote the film trilogy, with new music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri, who composed the score for the films, and Glen Ballard. The musical also includes songs from the film, including "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.
Gale issued a statement, saying:
“If Bob Zemeckis and I time traveled back to 1980 and told our younger selves that the script they were struggling to write would become a Broadway musical 43 years later, they’d kick us out of their office and call us crazy….The London production exceeded our original expectations on every level, and we’re certain the Broadway version, anchored by the brilliantly talented Roger Bart and Hugh Coles, along with the fantastic songs by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, will be even better.”
Tickets go on sale to the general public on October 28. You can catch the teaser trailer for Back to the Future: The Musical down below, featuring Bart and the original Doc himself, Christopher Lloyd.