Are you in the mood for some ’80s nostalgia? And if not, how about some ’50s nostalgia? Either way, do we have the Broadway musical for you. An adaptation of the classic 1985 Robert Zemeckis film Back to the Future is coming to Broadway. The musical premiered in the West End and won the Olivier Award in 2022 and is now headed straight for New York. Reprising their roles will be Hugh Coles as George McFly and Trisha Paytas’s ex and Tony Award winner Roger Bart as Doc Brown. Marty McFly, however, is changing hands. Previously played by Olly Dobson on the West End, the young male lead will be played by Almost Famous alum and 2019 Jimmy Award finalist Casey Likes. Back to the Future (the movie) writer Bob Gale revealed Likes’s casting live on Good Morning America on March 1 by having the young actor emerge from a DeLorean. “I’m very, very lucky and honored to work with amazing people like him,†Likes said, referring to Gale. Eventually, Likes will probably have to star in a musical that is not an adaptation of a nostalgic film, yearning for an era 30 years’ past. Today is not that day.
The show will play in the Winter Garden Theatre, with previews beginning June 30, 2023, and the official opening date set for August 3, 2023, making it ineligible for this year’s Tony Awards. The musical features new music by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard but will also feature songs off the original soundtrack, like the Oscar-nominated “The Power of Love†and “Johnny B. Goode.†So get ready, because soon a whole new audience will be introduced to seeing a kid attempt to not make out with his mom. And if you’re not yet convinced by that selling point, there’s a teaser with Roger Bart in character as Doc Brown talking to the original Doc, Christopher Lloyd, about a certain special DeLorean.
This post has been updated.