A Back to the Future musical sounds like a crazy joke, but Broadway's biggest spectacle is arguably this new spin on the classic sci-fi comedy - and this month, just in time for a one-day theatrical reissue of the 1985 classic, its original cast recording is breaking the space-time continuum with a bonus disc of alternate and early versions of songs from the show.

Having spun off two sequels, an animated series, a theme-park ride, comic books, model kits, a fancy pair of futuristic sneakers for charity and a whole lot more, you'd be forgiven for exclaiming "Great Scott!" over the idea of turning Robert Zemeckis' high-concept blockbuster into a stage show. But the film's original co-writer and keeper of the BTTF flame Bob Gale had floated the idea as early as 2004. It took some time to accelerate to 88 miles per hour, but Gale (adapting the script for the show's book) worked tenaciously with original series composer Alan Silvestri and pop songwriter Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill) to adapt the hilarious story of Marty McFly and his best friend-in-time "Doc" Emmett L. Brown working to reverse the accident that sent him and a souped-up DeLorean Time Machine crashing from 1985 to 1955, disrupting his parents' courtship in the process.

When the dust settled, Olly Dobson and award-winning The Producers star Roger Bart stepped into the roles of Marty and Doc, and the show premiered in Manchester, England in February 2020 - and despite getting sidelined a month later from the COVID-19 pandemic, the show re-opened on London's West End just 19 months later with the same cast and crew. The production earned seven Olivier nominations in the U.K., winning Best New Musical, and the West End cast's recording of the show was released last year. (It blends Silvestri and Ballard's original songs with re-recordings of original score cues, plus four key songs from the original film soundtrack: covers of the '50s classics "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)" and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," and "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time," as performed by Huey Lewis and The News.)

Back to the Future: The Musical made a big splash at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, featuring the same eye-popping sets and lighting - including a full-size replica of the time machine - that made U.K. audiences go wild. (Bart and Hugh Coles, who does a note-perfect take on Crispin Glover's George McFly, reprised their roles from across the pond; Casey Likes, fresh from a turn in a musical adaptation of Almost Famous, stars as Marty.) In that spirit, the original West End cast album is repressed on CD with a bonus disc featuring seven demos and six songs cut from the musical - a real "alternate timeline" if ever there was one!

With the show set to play on Broadway through the summer - and a national tour kicking off around the same time, too - Bak to the Future in stage form is a real love letter to fans of the series and a must-see for anyone who loves a big, silly musical with lots of heart. The cast album reissue hits stores this Friday, October 13 and can be pre-ordered below!

Back to the Future: The Musical - Original Cast Recording (Deluxe Edition) (Masterworks Broadway, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Original cast recording (released as Masterworks Broadway 19439 91760-2, 2022)

1. Overture - The Outatime Orchestra
2. It's Only a Matter of Time - Olly Dobson, Cedric Neal & Ensemble
3. Audition (The Power of Love)/Got No Future - Olly Dobson
4. Wherever We're Going - Olly Dobson & Courtney-Mae Briggs
5. Hello, Is Anybody Home? - Olly Dobson, Hugh Coles, Will Haswell, Emma Lloyd & Rosanna Hyland
6. It Works - Roger Bart & Ensemble
7. Don't Drive 88! - The Outatime Orchestra
8. Cake - Olly Dobson, Katharine Pearson, Mark Oxtoby & Ensemble
9. Gotta Start Somewhere - Cedric Neal
10. My Myopia - Hugh Coles
11. Pretty Baby - Rosanna Hyland & Ensemble
12. Future Boy - Olly Dobson & Roger Bart
13. Something About That Boy - Rosanna Hyland & Aidan Cutler
14. 21st Century - Roger Bart
15. Put Your Mind to It - Olly Dobson & Hugh Coles
16. For the Dreamers - Roger Bart
17. Teach Him a Lesson - Aiden Cutler, Will Haswell & Shane O'Riordan
18. The Letter/Only a Matter of Time (Reprise) - Olly Dobson & Courtney-Mae Briggs
19. Deep Divin - Cedric Neal
20. Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) - Cedric Neal, Hugh Coles & Rosanna Hyland
21. Johnny B. Goode - Olly Dobson
22. The Clocktower/For the Dreamers (Reprise) - Roger Bart
23. The Power of Love - Olly Dobson
24. Doc Returns/Finale - Original Cast
25. Back in Time - Olly Dobson, Roger Bart & Ensemble
26. Exit Music (Back in Time) - The Outatime Orchestra

Disc 2: Demos and bonus material (previously unreleased)

1. It's Only a Matter of Time (Demo)
2. Wherever We're Going (Showcase Version)
3. Hello, Is Anybody Home? (Demo)
4. It Works (Demo)
5. Cake (and Eat It Too) (Demo)
6. It's What I Do (Demo)
7. Good At Being Bad (Demo)
8. Future Boy (Demo)
9. One Way Street (Demo)
10. Time Travel is a Dangerous Thing (Demo)
11. Connections (Demo)
12. When You're Really Cool (Demo)
13. For the Dreamers (Demo)