‘Almost Famous’ Star Casey Likes Cast as Marty McFly in ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’






Casey Likes has been cast as Marty McFly in “Back to the Future: The Musical,” which is coming to Broadway this spring.

He joins the previously announced Tony Award winner Roger Bart, who will play Doc Brown, as well as Olivier Award nominee Hugh Coles, who has been cast as George McFly. Both Bart and Coles starred in the West End production of “Back to the Future: The Musical.”

Likes has some experience bringing beloved films to the stage. He recently appeared in the lead role of apprising rock journalist William Miller in “Almost Famous: The Musical.” Likes casting was announced on “Good Morning America,” with the actor stepping out of a DeLorean. He has the unenviable task of finding his way into a role made famous by Michael J. Fox.

Bart won a Tony for his performance as Snoopy in the 1999 revival of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and earned another nomination for his role as a flamboyant theater director in “The Producers.” Coles has appeared in “The Festival,” “Defending the Guilty” and “Atlanta.”


 KISS Officially Announce Final Date of Their Farewell Tour During ‘Howard Stern Show’ Appearance




During a highly publicized appearance on The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM, KISS have officially announced the final show of their End of the Road farewell tour, which will take place on Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the second of back-to-back nights.

There had been other proposed end dates for the rock legends just on this tour alone (which began in 2018) with manager Doc McGhee floating a couple loose timelines before declaring earlier this year that KISS will indeed put on their final tour performance in 2023.

Notably, this trek is not the first time the group has made an attempt to retire and there will surely be speculation about the legitimacy of this announcement.

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Considering the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers booked a set of 2023 U.K. dates and mentioned it'd be their last shows in the region, it really does appear that KISS are winding down their 50-year touring career with lone mainstays Paul Stanley having turned 71 earlier this year and Gene Simmons set to turn 74 this summer.

The band specifically noted this is the end of the farewell tour, leaving the door open for other opportunities such as one-off shows, residencies or festival appearances. Only time will tell.

See all of KISS' upcoming tour dates at their website and for your chance to see them, perhaps for the final time, get tickets here.







 

Woody Harrelson takes a jab at COVID vaccine mandates in 'SNL' monologue




Chris Martin and Coldplay took flight with choir-backed version of classic 'Fix You' on 'SNL'

The top 10 'SNL' sketches this season (so far), ranked, from 'HBO Mario Kart' to 'Christmas Carol'

Harrelson added: "I threw the script away. I mean, who was going to believe that crazy idea? Being forced to do drugs? I do that voluntarily all day."

The joke seemingly referenced lockdown measures in 2020 to stop the spread of COVID, as well as medically recommended vaccine booster shots.

As of Feb. 23, 69.3% of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A September 2022 study by the CDC determined a primary series of the vaccine in addition to a booster was significantly more effective at preventing hospitalization than only a primary series. This applied to adults who are and are not immunocompromised. 

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 Woody Harrelson on work and weed




Now 61 years old, Harrelson's day job remains the same. He's spent the last 38 years yo-yo-ing back and forth between TV and movies, comedy and drama. Versatility is his calling card.

"I've always been much more partial to the more indie spirit, you know, the movies that have this kind of deep heart," he said. And "Champions," his latest, "definitely has heart."

Harrelson plays a prickly but charming basketball coach with NBA dreams, who finds himself coaching a team of players with intellectual disabilities called "The Friends." Before the first day of shooting, director Bobby Farrelly (whom Harrelson first worked with 27 years ago on "Kingpin") told him the first scene he'd shoot, when his character meets the team for the first time, would be almost entirely improv.

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 Will Hardy receives passionate endorsement from Spurs’ Gregg Popovich




The Utah Jazz began the season as one of the surprise teams in the NBA and near the top of the Western Conference standings. With more than half of the season gone by and the trade deadline in the rearview, the Jazz have come back down to earth. They are still alive in the race for the postseason but they aren’t taking any teams by surprise anymore as they were early on. Even so, it’s been a solid debut for Jazz first-year head coach Will Hardy. Prior to the Jazz’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Hardy received heavy praise from coaching legend Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs as per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Hardy was a former assistant under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs from 2015-2021.
“He was a pretty impressive individual from the get-go. So I put him out on the court quickly with the guys and found that he commanded respect very quickly, just by being himself and teaching,” Popovich said. “He’s got a good wry sense of humor that he uses, and then I slowly fell in love with guy, and then he matriculated to the bench and showed that you understand the game, and made suggestions that were meaningful. He doesn’t say much unless he thinks he needs to; he’s got a great temperament – much better than mine. And I actually learned from him in a lot of those situations, as much or more than he learned from me.”

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 NAACP Image Awards 2023: See the complete list of winners




The ceremony for the 54th NAACP Image Awards took place Saturday.

The event recognizes achievement in the arts, entertainment and culture by people of color in more than 80 categories. Quinta Brunson, Viola Davis, Will Smith and Angela Bassett, who won Entertainer of the Year, were among those honored.

A list of nominees in several film and television categories follows below. Winners are indicted in bold.

Entertainer of the Year

Angela Bassett *WINNER

Mary J. Blige

Quinta Brunson

Viola Davis

Zendaya


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Producers Guild Reveals Short Form Program and Innovation Award Winners

The winners were announced at the guild's West Coast celebration on Thursday.




Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question and Stay Alive, My Son have won the 2023 Producers Guild Awards for best short form program and Innovation Award, respectively.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the winners in those categories at the guild’s annual West Coast celebration Thursday night in Santa Monica, the second in a week’s worth of bi-coastal events that culminate in the 2023 PGA Awards on Saturday in Los Angeles.

The Only Murders in the Building supplemental series features cast members interviewing some of the Hulu show’s many guest stars. (The Steve Martin and Martin Short-starring comedy is also nominated for the Danny Thomas Award for outstanding TV producing, which will be handed out at Saturday’s award ceremony.)