Back to the Future: The Musical

About the show

In Hill Valley, California, October 25, 1985 ("Overture"), Marty McFly arrives at the home of his scientist friend, Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, to find a pre-recorded message, playing on a large amplifier, asking Marty to meet him in the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall after midnight. After destroying the amplifier while playing his electric guitar, Marty walks through town and dreams about being a successful rock artist. A man named Goldie Wilson is running for mayor ("It's Only a Matter of Time"). When Marty's band audition is rejected ("Got No Future"), Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, comforts him ("Wherever We're Going") but they are interrupted by fundraisers for the restoration of the town's clock tower, which was damaged by lightning in 1955. Marty, with a flyer on the clocktower in hand, heads home to find his father George being harassed by his boss, Biff Tannen. George discourages Marty from chasing big dreams, his brother Dave explains his job at a burger restaurant and his mother, Lorraine McFly, discourages his sister, Linda, from dating and talks about how she first met George and kissed him at a school dance as Marty laments his family's state ("Hello, Is Anybody Home?"). At the Twin Pines Mall parking lot, Marty meets Doc who unveils a time machine made from a DeLorean and explains how he built it ("It Works"). However, due to inadequate protection while loading plutonium into the car's reactor, Doc is afflicted by acute radiation poisoning and is dying. Marty jumps in the car to seek medical help but accidentally accelerates to, sending him back in time to the day Doc conceptualised time travel in 1955. Ditching the car in a barn, Marty wanders to the town square where the citizens of Hill Valley celebrate the town ("Cake"). Marty witnesses his teenage father being threatened by Biff and his gang ("Got No Future" (reprise)) and tells him to stand up for himself. When he accidentally reveals then-diner employee Goldie will become Mayor of Hill Valley, Goldie is inspired and encourages George to also increase his self-esteem ("Gotta Start Somewhere"). Marty later finds George spying on teenage Lorraine from a tree ("My Myopia") but is knocked unconscious when George falls. Hours later, Marty wakes up in Lorraine's bedroom, where he is being cared for. Lorraine falls for Marty who tries to fend off her advances ("Pretty Baby"). Marty finds his way to Doc's house and convinces a younger Doc that he came from 1985 by revealing his knowledge about Doc's Flux Capacitor. Finding the car, Doc worries that Marty will be stuck in 1955 forever. As Marty despairs ("Future Boy"), Doc states that a bolt of lightning could power the time machine, and from the information on Marty's flyer, they plan how to use the lightning bolt. Marty tells Doc he encountered both of his parents; realizing Marty's future existence is in jeopardy, Doc instructs him to avoid meeting anyone from history and make sure George and Lorraine fall in love. The next day, they infiltrate Hill Valley High School ("Hill Valley High School Fight Song"), where Marty encourages George to ask Lorraine out to the school's upcoming dance. George tries to follow Marty's advice but runs afoul of Biff, forcing Marty to intervene. As Marty and George are chased around the campus, Lorraine tells her friends about the boy she tended to, while Biff and his gang hear rumors about Marty and plot to get rid of him. Marty fends off Biff, inadvertently awing Lorraine further ("Something About That Boy"). Doc Brown dreams of the social, technological, economic, and political advances of the future ("21st Century"), waking up as Lorraine invites Marty to the school dance to which Marty reluctantly accepts ("Something About That Boy" (reprise)). Marty visits George to boost his self confidence and dance abilities in preparation for the dance ("Put Your Mind to It"), running through the plan for George to win over Lorraine as well. As he plans to use a wire running from the clocktower to send the lightning to the DeLorean, Doc recalls how some scientists throughout history became famous, while others failed to fulfil their goals ("For the Dreamers"). Meanwhile, Biff and his gang learn of Marty's attendance at the upcoming dance and plot to beat him up ("Teach Him a Lesson"). On the night of the dance, Doc thanks Marty for giving him hope for his future; Marty secretly writes a letter to warn him of his death in 1985, despite being warned of the harm from disclosing future events. Marty reflects on his only chance to return to the future, while thinking of Jennifer back in 1985 for inspiration ("Only a Matter of Time" (reprise)). During the school dance ("Deep Divin'"), Lorraine advances on Marty ("Pretty Baby" (reprise)) before Biff locks him in a nearby dumpster and assaults Lorraine. Biff overpowers an arriving George, but George defeats him in one punch. As George escorts a grateful Lorraine to the dance, singer Marvin Berry and his band, on a smoke break, free Marty from the dumpster. Marvin's fingers are accidentally clamped by the closing lid. Knowing music will be needed for George and Lorraine to kiss, Marty volunteers to play guitar instead. The band plays "Earth Angel" as George and Lorraine kiss, saving Marty's existence. On Marvin's request for another song, Marty performs "Johnny B. Goode", but his guitar solo stuns the crowd. After bidding farewell to George and Lorraine, Marty leaves the dance to meet Doc who explains that high winds disconnected the upper cables and that he would have to reconnect them despite his fear of heights. Marty gives his letter to Doc who destroys it, worried about the consequences. Doc faces his fear and the storm to connect the wires ("For the Dreamers" (reprise)), while Marty drives the DeLorean, inserts the electric hook and accelerates to 88 miles per hour as the lightning strikes and sends him back to October 26, 1985. However, upon arrival, the car shuts down, preventing Marty from bringing Doc to the hospital. As Marty grieves over failing to save Doc, Doc appears, revealing that he pieced the letter back together and wore a better protective suit. He thanks Marty and bids him goodbye before departing to the future in the DeLorean. Marty sleeps in the courthouse square. The following morning, Marty discovers his father is now a renowned science fiction author with an annual celebration named after him, his family is more professionally and socially successful, and a timid Biff is in George's employ. At the celebration, the McFlys present the town with a check to restore the clock tower. As Marty and his band perform "The Power of Love" and the whole town joins in, Doc suddenly returns in the upgraded DeLorean, insisting Marty come with him to see the future. Marty hops in, and Doc sets the car's destination date to the exact time and date of the musical's current performance. The DeLorean takes off and flies overhead, and into the future ("Finale").