Back To The Future Is Becoming A Broadway Musical
On June 30th next year, Back To The Future: The Musical will open at the Winter Garden on Broadway. As much as I hated this video and the idea of ruining my favorite childhood movie, there's a chance this might not suck? This has already been a fully produced musical in London that was shut down immediately after opening in 2020 because of COVID. When it finally did re-open the next year, it won Best New Musical.
The other element that has me intrigued is that it is co-written and co-produced by Bob Gale. Gale, along with Robert Zemeckis wrote all of the Back to the Future movies so you'd have to think he's going to protect the story and not put a weird spin on it. They also have the rights to use Alan Silvestri's great score.
Having said all of that, I do wish this musical wasn't going to exist. I saw the first movie in the theaters right before I turned six and it blew my mind. I really like both sequels and it's among the greatest trilogies every made. Marty McFly and Doc Brown are two of the greatest characters in movie history even if their entire relationship really doesn't make any sense. You'd think I'd be excited to see a musical about one of my favorite things ever...but I'm just really worried they will ruin it. Or ruin what I like about it.
Beetlejuice is currently playing on Broadway and I haven't see that either. I love that movie as well (although not as much as I love BTTF). But musicals can go off the rails so quickly. Do I want to see Beetlejuice sing about the afterlife? Or Marty and Doc doing a duet about what is happening in 1985 and Doc not wanting to know? I really don't.
Both of these movies are obviously tapping into the nostalgia of middle-aged people who have disposable incomes. We saw it in movies that were Baby Boomer Porn like Forrest Gump but the Broadway was as likely to tap the nostalgia well for Boomers and if they did, it was lesser-known movies like Xanadu. It's also less bothersome to me if it's already a musical like The Lion King or Little Shop of Horrors. Adding songs to a story we already love seems like a bad idea.
I'll still wind up going to see this. As much as pop culture can be, Back to the Future is something that is a huge part of my life. I'll be dreading going to see it but what if it's great? I'll say this much. I am glad they are going this route then forcing some weird BTTF IV: The Force Awakens reboot down our throats.