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NEW YORK – The decade-jumping DeLorean is once again revving its engine.
Robert Zemeckis, screenwriter Bob Gale and theater director Jamie Lloyd have announced development of a stage musical based on Back to the Future, which is aiming to premiere in London’s West End during the 30th anniversary year of the smash 1985 release.
Universal Stage Productions, producer Colin Ingram and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment are behind the project, which will feature new music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard. Additional music heard in the film by Huey Lewis & the News, Chuck Berry, Pat Ballard and Curtis Williams, including “The Power of Love” and “Johnny B. Goode,” will also be featured.
The classic sci-fi comedy starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, who is transported 30 years into the past in a time-traveling car invented by his friend Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd). In addition to finding his way back to 1985, he also has to ensure his own existence by keeping his teenage parents’ romance on track.
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The film grossed $381 million at the worldwide box office and spawned two sequels. In total, the franchise earned $958 million. Zemeckis directed all three features, which he co-wrote with Gale.
Produced with Donovan Mannato and CJ E&M, the stage musical is expected to bow in London in 2015. No Broadway plans are in place at this stage.
“The Back to the Future musical is a project that Bob Zemeckis and I have been exploring for almost ten years,” said Gale. “We know the integrity of the material will be preserved in a production that will be a wonderful companion to the trilogy.”
“I was five when I saw Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s landmark movie, Back to the Future, and I have been a huge fan ever since,” added director Lloyd. “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 is currently represented in the West End with his hit production of the musical The Commitments, based on the 1991 Alan Parker film. He also recently directed James McAvoy in a well-received West End staging of Macbeth.
Six-time Grammy winner Ballard collaborated with film score composer Silvestri on the song “Believe” from Zemeckis’ animated feature The Polar Express. Ballard teamed with Dave Stewart on the score for Ghost: The Musical, another movie spinoff, which played London and Broadway.
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