What started as a look back at his dad’s past led to a future success Bob Gale could only imagine.

And it was from the dual imaginations of himself and his good friend and fellow writer/director Robert Zemeckis that a legendary story was brought to life, “Back to the Future.” That original movie from 1985 starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd spawned two sequels and continues to, well, stand the test of time.

And now it has a musical version, featuring a script written by Gale, which is coming to Bass Hall March 24-29 as part of Performing Arts Fort Worth’s Broadway at the Bass Series.

“People kept saying why not do a ‘Back to the Future 4?’ We kept saying no, we told the perfect story,” Gale, 75, said. “Bob Zemeckis and I were two guys who did not want to see the Beatles get back together. It’s better to leave some things well enough alone.”

However, a new idea came to them in 2005 after Zemeckis and his wife Leslie saw the musical “The Producers” by Mel Brooks. The original movie version in the late 1960s was a nonmusical, and while it garnered an Oscar nomination for Gene Wilder, it enjoyed nowhere the success of the musical it spawned.

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“Leslie said, ‘Have you guys ever thought about ‘Back to the Future’ as a musical?’” Gale said. “It’s a way to revisit the story, but we’re not rebooting or adding a fourth.

“No one expects to see Michael J. Fox — which was another reason we felt we couldn’t do a fourth movie. This is a stage cast.”

This was Gale’s initial foray into writing a musical. The show premiered in Manchester, England, in 2020, then on the London West End in 2021, winning an Olivier Award in 2022 for Best New Musical. It transferred to Broadway in August of 2023 and ran until January of 2025.

Along with its U.S. run, the show is touring in Tokyo and Sydney.

Creating the original ‘Back to the Future’

Gale recalled the origin of the original concept, which began in the summer of 1980 as he was visiting his parents in St. Louis. He was going through some items his dad had salvaged from a flood, including his father’s high school yearbook from 1940.

“I attended the same high school 29 years later,” Gale said. “I learned my dad was president of his high school class. It got me wondering, would I have been friends with my dad if we had gone to school at the same time?”

So, he told Zemeckis, who loved the idea of turning it into a story and movie.

“We were surprised no one had thought of it before. It was the easiest pitch meeting I’ve ever had,” Gale said.

However, getting the concept from an idea to an actual movie proved a little more difficult. They wrote two drafts of the original script, but Gale said they were rejected over 40 times.

“We kept hearing time travel movies don’t make any money,” he said.

Finally, Universal Studios signed them, made the movie that was released in 1985 and made history.

“Generation after generation loves it,” Gale said. “We knew we had something good, but no way we could have imagined the impact it would have — and still does have.”

The duo received an Academy Award nomination for their script for the original film in the trilogy.

Differences between movie and musical

While the story is the same as the 1985 movie, Gale said there are some differences audiences should expect when they see the musical.

“It had to be different enough so no one says they could have stayed home and watched the movie,” he said.

Perhaps the most notable difference is the DeLorean automobile — the mode of time travel made famous by the movies — talks in the stage production. For example, Marty or Doc tells the car a date and destination and it repeats it to them.

“I stole the idea from ‘Knight Rider,’” Gale said with a chuckle. “It has a female voice like Siri.”

There is also no dog, Doc’s loyal companion Einstein.

“We obviously couldn’t have a real dog onstage with some of the effects that happen,” Gale said. “And putting someone in a dog costume would look dumb.”

And there will not be a skateboard chase with Marty eluding Biff and his fellow bullies.

“It’s just dangerous to have your lead actor on a skateboard,” Gale said. “We do have an allusion to it, though, as Marty skates through school. We pay homage to it.”

Fans can expect to hear the popular songs from the film’s soundtrack “Power of Love” and “Back in Time.” Also, the classics “Johnny B. Goode” and “Earth Angel” from the school dance scene will be in the musical.

Also, the show will feature an orchestral score throughout, enhancing certain scenes as is regularly done in movies, but as acknowledged by Gale as “extremely rare in musical theater.”

Worldwide hit

Even while conducting this interview, Gale was preparing for a trip abroad to promote the musical. He noted it’s hard to find a part of the world that hasn’t seen and fallen in love with the adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown, the two main characters in the story.

“Everybody in the world wonders ‘What did my parents do on their first date?’” Gale said. “What would it be like to be a fly on the wall for their first date?

“Then you realize they were my age once. That transcends all cultures, and that’s why ‘Back to the Future’ works all over the world.”