Back to the Future Casting Announced

Producers John Frost, Colin Ingram and the creators of the original film trilogy Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale have announced that Tony Award winner Roger Bart will don the boiler suit and voice-activate the time travelling DeLorean for the Australian Premiere season of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical, reprising the role of Dr. Emmett Brown; a character made famous originally by Christopher Lloyd in the first Back to the Future movie.

The winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical will premiere at the Sydney Lyric from Friday 26th September 2025.

Australian producer John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia said, “We are thrilled to have the esteemed and brilliant Roger Bart join our incredible Australian cast for the Australian Premiere season in Sydney. Roger has enthralled West End and Broadway audiences, so we can’t wait for Aussies to have the pleasure of witnessing his interpretation of ‘Doc’ on our shores.”

Roger Bart is best known for originating the role of Carmen Ghia in Mel Brooks' Broadway musical, The Producers, for which he received Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations; a part he recreated in the film adaptation of the musical. He won Tony and Drama Desk awards for his performance as ‘Snoopy’ in the revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.

In addition to originating the title role in the musical of Young Frankenstein, Roger’s other notable stage appearances include Disaster! (Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination), The Frogs, Triumph Of Love, King David and Big River. He created the role of ‘Hades’ in the NYSF/Public Theater production of Hercules, revisiting the piece that he first brought to life as the singing voice of ‘Young Hercules’ in the animated film's Academy Award-nominated song ‘Go the Distance.’

Roger’s body of work also extends to both the small and big screens, with television credits including Good Trouble, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Graves, Grace and Frankie, and Episodes. Other popular television appearances include Revenge, Desperate Housewives and 30 Rock. His film credits include Office Romance, Man With The Bag, Ghost Light,

Speech & Debate, and Jay Roach's adaptation of Trumbo, as well as Last Vegas, Law Abiding Citizen, Harold & Kumar 2, American Gangster and The Stepford Wives.

​​Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper added, “I’m thrilled Roger Bart has landed the iconic role of Dr Emmett Brown for the Australian Premiere season and can’t wait to watch him and the full cast bring this much-loved movie to the Sydney Lyric stage in September. By changing the rules around the hours after dark and investing in Australian premieres of world-class productions like Back to the Future: The Musical, the NSW Government is bringing vibrancy back to the future of our city, creating unforgettable experiences in Sydney along with the hundreds of jobs they support in the creative and visitor economies.”

Some of Australia’s most outstanding musical theatre performers and exciting fresh faces have been assembled to deliver a cast promising one point twenty-one gigawatts of electricity each and every performance.

Tony Award winning director John Rando said, “I was blown away by the level of local talent that came through our audition room doors in Sydney. Back to the Future is a pop culture sensation, steeped in nostalgia and beloved by millions of fans worldwide, and I couldn’t be more confident that we have chosen a local Australian cast that will do the story justice, whilst inspiring a new generation of fans.”

Ashleigh Rubenach will play Marty’s mum Lorraine Baines, whilst joining the ensemble is Emma Feliciano, who will also play the role of Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer. Troy Sussman has been cast as the Doc Brown standby, Thomas McGuane will play Biff, Javon Smith will play the roles of Goldie Wilson and Marvin Berry, and Anton Berezin will play Strickland. Ethan Jones will play Marty’s father, George McFly.

The ensemble and swing cast will feature Jay Johns, Isabella Roberts, Jacob Steen, Sienna Embrey, Alexandra Cashmere, Celine Cleveland, Jack Coyne, Kara Sims, Taye Grant, Davy Harris, Joshua Spiniello, Emily Wood and Bronson Pfeiler, Charlotte Page joins the swing cast and Dwayne Mitchell.

The role of Marty McFly will be announced in June.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical will be produced in Australia by John Frost for Crossroads Live Australia and Colin Ingram for Colin Ingram Ltd.

The Australian premiere of BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Musical is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.    

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Photo by Matt Crockett