About the work
Zurück in die Zukunft – Das Musical (Back to the Future: The Musical) is based on the cult film of 1985. The music is by Alan Silvestri (the film's composer) and Glen Ballard, the book by Bob Gale, who co-wrote the original screenplay. After its 2020 premiere in Manchester and its 2021 West End opening in London, the German-language production premiered in Hamburg in 2026. The musical combines the iconic time-travel story with elaborate stage technology — including a seemingly flying DeLorean.
Plot
Teenager Marty McFly is accidentally hurled back to 1955 by the time machine built by the eccentric inventor Doc Brown — a converted DeLorean. There he inadvertently prevents the first meeting of his future parents and must now make sure they fall in love after all — or his own existence will be erased. With the help of the younger Doc Brown and the energy of a lightning strike on the clock tower, Marty fights to save the timeline and return to his own present, the year 1985.
Cultural significance
Back to the Future: The Musical won the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and was praised for its spectacular effects and affectionate realisation of the film material. Alongside new songs by Silvestri and Ballard, the numbers familiar from the film, such as "The Power of Love" and "Johnny B. Goode", also feature. As a stage adaptation of one of the most popular films of the 1980s, it draws a cross-generational audience.