INTERVIEW: Sophie Naglik, currently playing Jennifer Parker in the London production of Back to the Future

Sophie Naglik is currently appearing in the West End production of Back to the Future the Musical as Jennifer Parker. Her other credits include Onstage swing / 1st Cover Lucy and 2nd Cover Susan in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (UK Tour), Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane, West End), Hortensia in Matilda (Cambridge Theatre, West End) and Older Girl in The Boy In The Dress Musical Workshop (RSC).

Having appeared in the production since August, Sophie has had a little time to settle in now and we managed to catch up with her and talk all about the show. 

You’ve recently joined the West End cast of Back to the Future, how have you found it so far?

I’ve loved the whole process and the people. The atmosphere right from the beginning was very welcoming and fun, which created a lovely place to nurture the role.

The film has a huge following and now the show does too, how have you found the fan reaction?

Amazing! The love the fans have for the show is inspiring and has enabled me to find even more love for the show and the story.

REVIEW: Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre

We reviewed this wonderful musical version of the 1985 film Back to the Future in October 2021 after it finally opened following a long Covid delay when its premiere in Manchester was cut short in 2020 but a year on after a fairly extensive cast change it was definitely time to revisit the show. IMDB ranked the film as one of the top 50 movies of all time and its creators’ writers Bob Gale and Bob Zemeckis decided after the second sequel in 1990 that the story was told, and the Film Franchise was concluded. Its enduring popularity to new generations of fans is a testament to the quality of its writing and performances and therefore it was somewhat bold to tinker with that legacy by turning the original film into a stage musical. What’s more, to do it with the original creative team showed not just loving care to protect the memory but also a risk to damage it by getting it wrong in the transfer to stage. It may have been a long development path from the original idea in 2005 but Back to the Future – The Musical is now firmly established in the West End as a hit show.

I am delighted to report that the show, like the films, has matured with age and led by the irrepressible Roger Bart as Doc Brown is as good if not better than when it first opened. Burt who has been with the show since the start seems to relish every moment he is on stage and has learned how to milk the audiences’ reactions and delights in the ludicrous Busby Berkeley-style musical numbers that burst on stage for no logical reason except to simply entertain us. Some of it is bizarre like the opening to Act 2 with a fantasy sequence with the Doc belting out the song “21st Century” together with a dancing chorus of lab-coated assistants; it may not be the “Time Warp”, but it seems to pay tribute to other Musical films and stage shows as does “Future Boy”, with a chorus in top hats and tails. But as with so much of this show, it simply makes you smile with pleasure at the exuberant fun.

REVIEW: Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre

A cult classic with a huge following, this show has been tipped to come to the West End for a long time. With their preview period in Manchester cut short because of the pandemic, it finally hits London and plays at the Adelphi Theatre. Now, don’t come for me, but I have not seen the film! I know, I know, it’s a classic and everyone has seen it apart from me! However, walking into the theatre with an open mind was actually a refreshing thing as to not know anything about a show is a rarity! Helped along with the audience, I knew exactly what references were from the movie and what were new additions.

When Marty McFly sees that his good friend Doc Brown has had an accident with one of his inventions, he gets into his time travelling car to get help, little does he know that it’ll in fact send him back in time to the exact date his parents met. Whilst his mother is busy falling head over heels for him, Marty must think of a way to make sure his parents meet and fall in love to insure he and his siblings exist in the future. A classic empty plot we have seen a lot from big blockbuster 80’s movies but nonetheless, a storyline we can escape into. 

COMING HOME: Rosanna Hyland, about to appear in Back to the Future at the Adelphi Theatre

Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back! 

Back to the Future was one of the most anticipated new musicals of the season, with a tryout run in Manchester wetting the musical theatre worlds appetite before its West End transfer. Unfortunately, after only a few weeks at the Manchester Opera House, the show closed. Having been in Manchester recently myself, it's sad to see the front of house still covered in the show's artwork following the quick closure it had but with the news of the show officially making its West End premiere on the 20th August 2021, we couldn’t be more excited! 

Rosanna Hyland will be reprising her role of Lorraine Baines in the West End production after being in the show in Manchester. Her other credits include Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, Alice in I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road at the Jermyn Street Theatre, Betty Hapschatt in Shock Treatment at the King’s Head Theatre, Hope Cladwell in Urinetown at the Apollo and St. James Theatre (Now the Other Palace), covering the role of Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Swing in Sister Act at the London Palladium and covering the role of Julie Jordan in Carousel at The Savoy.

BACK TO THE FUTURE announce Original Cast Recording & initial West End casting

MASTERWORKS BROADWAY is delighted to announce that in early Summer 2021, it will release the Original Cast Recording to BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical.  

The musical is scheduled to open in early Summer 2021 at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End and features new music by multi-Grammy winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard alongside classic songs from the movie.  

 

As a special treat for audiences eager to connect with ‘Back to the Future’ and to the exciting musical adventure awaiting them, Back to the Future Day on 21^st October 2020 will see the release of the single ‘Back in Time’ featuring Olly Dobson.

 

Behind this eagerly-anticipated stage show are Producer Colin Ingram (Ghost – The Musical) and Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creators of the Back To The Future film trilogy.  The show moves to the West End following an out-of-town opening in March 2020 at the Manchester Opera House where it was enthusiastically received by critics and public alike.  Roger Bart and Olly Dobson will reprise the roles of ‘Dr Emmett Brown’ and ‘Marty McFly’ respectively. Also returning are Hugh Coles as ‘George McFly’, Rosanna Hyland as ‘Lorraine Baines’, Cedric Neal as ‘Goldie Wilson’, Aidan Cutler as ‘Biff Tannen’ and Courtney-Mae Briggs as ‘Jenn ifer Parker’. 

REVIEW: West End Eurovision 2019, in aid of the Make A Difference Trust, at the Adelphi Theatre

Never mind Avengers: Assemble, this epic TheatreMAD fundraiser is West End: Assemble, as heroes from all departments give their best Eurovision-inspired performances, in the hope of lifting the glittering trophy at the end of the night.

Back for its 9thyear, this highlight of the theatrical calendar boasted another fabulous panel of celebrity judges; Love Island and 9 to 5 star Amber Davies, television’s Tim Vincent, ballet impresario Wayne Sleep and stage and screen royalty Bonnie Langford. Throughout the night they treated us to hilarious patter, particularly Sleep, and the audience lapped it up.

Host Richard Gauntlett is a marvel. Each year, he has the audience eating from the palm of his hand with his lightning-quick wit, and this year was no exception. Special mention must also go to Musical Director and Arranger Matheson Bayley, perhaps the hero of the night, leading the seven-piece band through all of the performances. Events like this can easily fall apart without careful planning and rehearsal; with Gauntlett and Bayley at the helm, there is certainly no danger of that.

This year, the shows competing for the trophy were Only Fools & Horses, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Aladdin, Mamma Mia!, Follies, Wickedand reigning champions The Phantom of the Opera. Everyone involved devotes their time voluntarily, and an extraordinary amount of time and energy goes into creating the idents, costumes, choreography, vocal arrangements and technical work on and offstage.