SITTING next to Christopher Lloyd on a sofa backstage in Manchester, Roger Bart can’t hide the admiration he has for the Hollywood legend, the man who created Doc Brown when Back to the Future caused a sensation when it hit the cinemas back in 1985.

“In many respects it was just the perfect performance,” said Roger. But now it is his turn to continue that legacy as he recreates Doc Brown for Back to the future the Musical which has its world premiere at Manchester Opera House before transferring to London’s West End

For many people that might be a daunting prospect, but the Tony Award winner appears to be taking it all very much in his stride.

“Honestly, it’s been a blast to put it all together,” said Roger who has starred on Broadway in The Producers and notably as Snoopy You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. Although this will be his UK stage debut, he will be familiar to many audience members for his role as George William in the TV hit Desperate Housewives.

Back to the Future the Musical has been written by Bob Gale who, along with Robert Zemeckis, was responsible for the original film starring Christopher Lloyd and Michael J Fox as Marty McFly, the teenager who travels back in time.

“Having done The Producers, Mel Brooks was there every day with us and Bob has been the same with this - it’s his baby,” said Roger.

“No-one can solve a problem faster, he wrote the bible for Back to the Future.”

Everyone involved in the show is keen to stress that one of the main reasons it has taken so long to bring the story to the stage was that it had to be done right.

After all, the original film has taken more than £279 million at the box office - and all three Back to the Future films, have grossed more than $1.8 BILLION in today’s money.

“This is no whimsical, cruise line version of it,” said Roger. “It’s being done to the best of all our abilities to stay respectful and true to the story.”

“So many fans are so invested in Back to the Future that we have to respect them and do it justice.”

For many people it is the eccentric character of Doc Brown which is one of the defining features of the movie. But Roger is not going to fall into the trap of simply copying Christopher Lloyd’s performance.

“I’m not a good impersonator,” he laughed. “But what I’ve tried to do is give the audience moments where you can almost hear Chris say the line and see the face he’s making, I think they’d be deeply disappointed if I didn’t have a deep understanding of his character.

“But it’s not about impersonating him; it’s also understanding the situation and creating a character that’s real for me to play.

“There’s this real double whammy you have to deal with - you get intelligence of this great script mixed with what I would often refer to the perfect rendition of the character and then I try to serve both them and infuse myself on to them.

“Yes, that might be seen as pressure but to have the original movie and Chris’s performance are for me, such a leg up. I’m setting out to be the Doc as best I can referencing some of the greatest comedic choices ever made.”

To find out what makes the Doc tick, there’s no better reference point than Christopher Lloyd himself.

“Doc is so excited to invent things,” he said. “He’s always got this lust for discovery. He’s going a mile a minute all the time in his head, so all those great speeches that Bob wrote filled with typical mumbo jumbo had to come really fast.”

Although staying true to the storyline of the first Back to the Future Movie, as well as being performed on stage, the new show differs in another very obvious way - the characters have songs to sing.

“Bringing the show to the stage adds another dimension,” said Roger. “Because it’s a musical, you get to see the Doc in a different way. Something happens to a person when they sing. It’s a form of expression that’s very revealing about who the character is. “

Fans of the movie will be thrilled to know that The Power of Love and Johnny B Goode are retained for the stage but there are a number of new songs created by Grammy Award winners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard.

“This is a rock and roll show in many ways,” said Roger. “We have been able to create music from 1955 which is so distinctive in style and also from 1985 which again has a distinctive style to it.

“We had a lot of discussions about it and how Doc could express himself through the music.

“I think it’s like pausing time to allow him two or three minutes to express his emotions through a song, something you just can’t do on film. The music does give the audience access to the characters’ emotions. It gives them a chance to experience something different, it’s like you have expanded the character.”

Back to the Future the Musical also stars Olly Dobson as Marty McFly and producer Colin Ingram has promised the show will be visually stunning with one or two technical surprises along the way.

“We can’t wait to bring the show to Manchester audiences,” said Roger. “It’s been a long time coming but believe me, it’ll be worth the wait.”

Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House, Thursday, February 20 to Sunday, May 17. Details from www.atgtickets.com