Stephen Cole doesn't think highly of mutant Morlocks from the future.

It's not personal, he just doesn't feel they're suitable theater material. Cole should know, as a playwright and musical lyricist he's based musical shows on such beloved properties as cult classic film "Night Of The Hunter" to everyone's favorite friendly ghost Casper.

Now he's working on "Time After Time," a stage musical based on the novel written by Karl Alexander and film directed by Nicholas Meyer which starred Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen as a time-crossed couple destined to be together despite centuries of distance between them. After meeting a colleague, Cole started musing about a new direction for his own work and the stage in general.

"I met a director who was interested in a sci-fi musical, so I considered 'The Time Machine' and told him to watch 'Time After Time' for reference," Cole told Airlock Alpha's Will N. Stape. "Eventually I realized a musical with Morlocks would be a surefire flop and became more enamored with Meyers film. Then I got the rights."

Despite the movie's charm, "Time After Time" wasn't love at first sight for Cole. "Little by little I fell in love with the characters and realized I had to fill the holes left in the film."

With time travel, plot holes can be compounded. Since Coles collaborator Jeffrey Saver had to set it all to music, on what can be a confining stage, it was essential things change from movie to state.

"The biggest hole was why Amy would take a valium on the night she was supposed to be killed and why shes in her apartment asleep when Jack the Ripper is about to show up," Cole said. "There are several car chases that also cover holes. Since there are no car chases on the stage, everything had to make perfect sense. I have tried to make the scene surrounding Amy's imminent demise more exciting as well as musical and also tie it into the bigger love story themes."

Casting can mean everything to a production. Malcom McDowell as H.G. Wells, Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen as Amy Robbins, and always intense David Warner playing Jack The Ripper personified these characters vividly on film. Cole had no trouble referring back to them while creating his play.

"The film cast is always in our heads when we're working on the show," he said. "They were ideal at the time and marvelous. Their voices are with me always. Except for H.G., the characters have been deepened and made richer in the musical, with backstory for Jack clearing up who and why he is what he is. Amy is more contemporary as well."

Finding as good original actors takes time.

"We've done developmental reading with ideal people. Christian Borle, whos now a Broadway star in 'Legally Blonde,' is still ideal for HG as he sings brilliantly, is funny, is adorable, but not classically handsome," Cole said. "Hes a quirky funny looking little guy who could be from another time. Christopher Fitzgerald who currently stars in 'Young Frankenstein' as Igor is another good choice.

"Amys are hard. We have had some great ones ranging from Sally Mayes to Lauren Kennedy who just starred in 'Spamalot.' I know well discover a new girl. Having just done a reading at Northwestern with a complete newcomer [a student] who was brilliant, I don't think we will have trouble finding a fresh face."

Considering the villain -- legendary Jack The Ripper -- does Cole envision dream casting?

"Jack has been played in the past by Keith Carradine and Brian Noonan, but my top current choice would be Raoul Esparza who recently starred in 'Company' on Broadway. Dreaming big? Cinemas Sweeney Todd - Johnny Depp."

Other changes from the source material focus more on relevant story trappings, with time and location being changed from 1970s San Francisco to present day New York City.

"We have set the show one year into the future i.e. 2009. We also changed locale to NYC because it's best to write where you know," Cole said. "I thought the shock of H.G. in NYC would be greater than San Francisco. NYC is such an extremely modern ever-changing city for him to mistake for 'Utopia.' It's also more fun to satirize our own time" as the film and novel did.

The Great White Way doesn't exactly embrace speculative or science-fiction. Nonetheless with hit shows like "Tommy," "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show," Broadway has delved into the outer reaches of the unknown. Despite a dearth of Sci-Fi shows or because of it, Cole is confident "Time After Time" will stand out and on its own.

"I don't think there has been another show like this," he said. "I didn't fear the material because it ultimately is so 'human' with such universal themes, it wouldn't matter where and when it was set."

Although not a done deal yet, the show is on a fast track and making progress.

We have done several readings and the show is ready for a full fledged production," Cole said. "We have a prominent director interested whos chomping at the bit and a producer with money. We're looking for a proper venue to try it out and work on it. Musicals are tough to get right and the more work you can do in front of a real audience the better."

Coles musical composer and collaborator Jeffrey Saver, a Broadway veteran as conductor and arranger, also teamed with Cole on Dodsworth, the adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel and was produced starring televisions own Barney Miller, veteran actor Hal Linden.

Its been a lengthy journey for the musical version of "Time After Time," but theres still a long road ahead. Although it appears for Stephen Cole, Jeffrey Saver and their producers, the show title poetically encourages them and says it all neatly. It may take a bit of doing, or time after time, but H.G. and Amys love story will someday land on Broadway.

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