In celebration of its 30-year anniversary, Robert Zemeckis is directing a West End musical version of Back to the Future, set to open in London in 2015.
Zemeckis is also writing a book to go along with the play alongside the movie screenwriters Jamie Lloyd and Bob Gale. Zemeckis directed the trilogy along with The Polar Express, Forrest Gump, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Lloyd will co-direct the play and will include Andrew Willis who is a consultant for the skateboard. Lloyd said he was a young boy when he first watched Zemeckis and Gale’s first movie and was a fan since then. He said he’s excited about co-writing and directing the musical.
Lloyd went on to say that instead of trying to recreate the movie, the directors put together an artistic team using theatrical language that will take the audience on a trip through time in a unique way. The play will have skateboarding, illustrations and various other surprises used to capture the film’s spirit but for a new audience. Old and new songs will be introduced in the play as well.
There will be five producers for the musical:
- Amblin Entertainment (Steven Spielberg)
- CJ E&M Set
- Colin Ingram
- Donovan Mannato
- Universal Stage Productions
Soutra Gilmour will handle the costume designs.
The Back to the Future play is the latest in a long line of West End remakes of popular 80s movies: Dirty Dancing, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Flashdance and Ghost.
Back to the Future, which was released on July 3, 1985 and grossed over £350 million around the world, is a story about a teenage boy going back into time with the DeLorean car that his best friend, a nutty scientist, Doc Brown created, and getting stuck in 1955. The movie stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover.
The success of Back to the Future led to the creation of two sequels: Back to the Future II and III.
The movie also won a Best Sound Editing Oscar.
