‘We don’t need to do this’: The vow made by the creators of the Back to the Future musical

5 days ago 7

By James Jennings

October 2, 2025 — 5.00am

Turning unlikely films into musicals is not a new concept – American Psycho, Legally Blonde and Beetlejuice have all been successfully adapted for the stage in recent years. But none are perhaps as beloved as the latest adaptation, time travel sci-fi/comedy Back to the Future – the highest-grossing film worldwide in 1985, and a movie that has developed a devoted fan base ready to pounce on anything that may sully its reputation.

When toying with the idea for Back to the Future: The Musical, upsetting rabid fans played heavily on the minds of the film’s co-creators and co-writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis (the latter also directed the film), as well as the film’s composer, Alan Silvestri (whose credits include Forrest Gump, The Bodyguard and the Avengers series). When Gale and Zemeckis reached out to Silvestri and asked him to start working on ideas for the musical, the veteran composer knew they were potentially messing with the Mona Lisa.

The Musical. Bart is playing the role in Australia.

“When we started talking about Back to the Future: The Musical, the fans were… I’m not gonna use the word ‘interested’, because there were a lot of fans who thought, ’Don’t do that. Don’t destroy my favourite movie!” says the 75-year-old from his home in Carmel County, California. “[Gale and Zemeckis] had to deal with a lot of people who didn’t want the musical to do well, because they thought it was gonna somehow detract or devalue the film. And, of course, it did just the opposite, and it’s been a lovely addition to Back to the Future, the film.”

Silvestri estimates it was a lengthy 12 years from initial discussions about the project to the musical hitting the stage in Manchester, England, in 2020, with the core creative team easing pressure on themselves during that period by agreeing to kill the project the minute they felt it wasn’t working.

Back to the Future writer Bob Gale at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

“The approach was, ‘We don’t need to do this’,” says Silvestri. “We didn’t have a studio coming to us and saying, ‘We want this’ – it was all generated from us. Back to the Future certainly didn’t need a musical – it was already a beloved, iconic film that had become a part of American culture. The mantra became, ‘If it’s not great, we’re not gonna do it.’ And that was right up until the day we walked on stage. ‘If this is a mess and the audience doesn’t like it, it’s over.’ That was the spirit in which we worked – we always felt it’s got to really be great and fun and honour everything that’s great about the movie.”

To develop the music and lyrics, Silvestri paired up with songwriter, lyricist and producer Glen Ballard, furthering a partnership that began when the duo collaborated on the Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning Josh Groban song Believe from the 2004 Zemeckis film The Polar Express. Ballard, whose other co-writing credits include the Michael Jackson single Man in the Mirror and Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, calls Silvestri “an absolute orchestral genius”.

“I was challenged as a lyricist to find the words to go with this incredible score that everybody knows – [imitates the Back to the Future theme] ba ba ba ba da da da da da da,” says Ballard from his Hollywood home. “We made a song out of that, and then we just wrote a bunch of other songs. But we always tried to incorporate his iconic score because we were not naive enough to think that people didn’t want to hear that, ’cause it’s one of the great themes of all time.”

The musical is currently playing in London’s West End, with a run on New York’s Broadway having wrapped up in January this year (that production is now in the middle of a North American tour). Ballard and Silvestri both speak highly of Roger Bart, the Tony Award-winning actor who is reprising the role of Doc Brown in the Sydney production after successful stints in both the West End and Broadway versions. (“He’s literally one of the greatest actors of all time,” enthuses Ballard.)

The pair also says they’re thrilled with how Back to the Future has ultimately been translated for the stage and promise that Australian fans are in for a treat. (“Audiences were laughing and cheering and jumping around, and there are no words to describe how that feels,” says Silvestri proudly of the show’s Manchester debut.)

“We live in the digital age, right? And you can download anything. But when you go into a room with serious musicians, great actors, great production, great lighting, a stage, no cellphones on … it becomes a magical experience,” adds Ballard. “My whole thing is promoting the idea that close-up magic is all we’ve got left, and everything else is fake. That’s what theatre is all about – intimate live performance, people experiencing something together. Whatever is happening in the world outside, you can just forget it for two hours.”

Back to the Future: The Musical is now showing at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.