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A film adaptation of a Broadway musical of a major motion picture? Great Scott! It’s been done before but Robert Zemeckis would really love bringing Back to the Future to the screen — again, this time as a cinematic take on the hit musical. But will he ever get the chance?

While his latest movie Here flounders at the box office, Robert Zemeckis is on the promotional circuit also highlighting some of his greatest hits, including one of his biggest money makers, 1985’s Back to the Future. As far as his plans, inspiration and its status, he noted, “I would like to do the Back to the Future, the musical. Just like [Mel] Brooks did The Producers. I would love to do that. I think that would be great… I floated that out to the folks at Universal. They don’t get it. So, nothing I can do.”

The Back to the Future...

The Broadway stage musical adaptation of Back To The Future will play its final performance on Sunday, January 5, producers announced today, bringing an end to its 18-month run at the Winter Garden Theatre.

When it closes, the musical will have performed more than 500 shows at the Winter Garden and, according to producers, sold $80 million in ticket sales. Producers have not announced a recoupment.

In recent months, attendance and sales have been slipping. Last week, the show took in $896,423 in weekly grosses, down considerably from the $1 million-plus figures from as recently as this past summer. Attendance last week was 86% of the venue’s capacity, while more recent Broadway arrivals – Cabaret, Sunset Blvd., Tammy Faye, The Outsiders – and even some longer-running shows like & Juliet, Aladdin, Hadestown and others – were in the 90% or more territory.

Directed by John Rando, the Broadway production, which opened on August 3, 2023, stars Casey Likes, Roger Bart, Evan Alexander Smith,...

Back to the Future – The Musical will end its Broadway run on Jan. 5, 2025.

The musical, which is an adaptation of the 1985 film, opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway on Aug. 3, 2023, and will have been on Broadway for 18 months at the time of its closing. The show has sold $80 million in tickets and appeared to attract movie fans, and new audiences to Broadway, but received mixed critical reviews and has seen a gradual decline in grosses and attendance.

Producers plan to open four productions in the next 18 months including Germany, Japan and announced an eight-year deal with Royal Caribbean to play the musical “in its full physical form” on Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas.

The show features a book, which closely follows the plot of the first film, by Bob Gale, the co-creator and co-writer for the film trilogy, and music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri, who...

Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus both have hit songs under their belt, but only one was a duet from the two. The track in question came from a popular movie. In addition, it was written by one of the biggest pop songwriters of all time.

Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus did a song written by Michael Jackson’s songwriter

Hannah Montana: The Movie was a big moment in the Cyruses’ career since both of them starred in it. It was only fitting that they would sing a song together for the film. The two performed a duet for Hannah Montana: The Movie called “Butterfly Fly Away.” The track was produced by Glen Ballard, the songwriter behind hits like Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” and Aerosmith’s “Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees).”

During a 2009 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,...

Part of why Michael Jackson‘s “Man in the Mirror” is so powerful is that the King of Pop had an incredible singing voice. Despite that, he was trying to sound like another 1980s singer. That singer revealed what she thought when she learned Jackson was trying so hard to sound like her.

The writer of Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’ tells her story

Siedah Garrett co-wrote “Man in the Mirror,” which might be Jackson’s most famous ballad. During an interview with Blue Railroad, Garrett said that Jackson wanted to sound like Garrett when he recorded the song. “That was such a high compliment,” Garrett said. “We’d finished the part we had to fix on the duet so I was getting ready to leave. I was packing up and he said, ‘Where you goin?’ I said, ‘Aren’t we done? Isn’t this history, dude?’

“He said,...

Michael Jackson‘s “Man in the Mirror” is the rare pop song with a great message — a message Jesus Christ might have liked. In fact, the song seems like a paraphrase of one of the most famous passages from the gospels. Here’s a look at the spiritual dimensions of one of Jackson’s best ballads.

Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’ is like the Sermon on the Mount

Some of Jesus Christ’s most famous teachings are in his Sermon on the Mount. Some of these statements are certainly challenging! “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” Jesus says in Matthew 7. “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?...

“As we investigated the story, the bones of the story itself, what we discovered was that it was ready made for the stage,” explains Glen Ballard of “Back to the Future: The Musical.” The famed songwriter collaborated with composer Alan Silvestri to bring one of the most beloved movies of the 1980s to the stage. The road to Broadway was long, but full of creative potential. “We thought it was a delicious opportunity,” admits Ballard. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

The project came with many appealing assets, with perhaps the most important one being Silvestri’s iconic score to the film. The duo transformed the films’ title theme into a catchy opening number, appropriately called “It’s Only a Matter of Time.” A new set of lyrics that introduce the audience to Marty McFly (Casey Likes) fits neatly into the infamous melody line. “I think one of the first...

Christmas movies are one of the most beloved genres in cinema history with every film fan having their own select favorite that they watch and rewatch every year. However, while the genre is treasured, the Oscars haven’t rewarded it as much as you might think or hope. There are several movies, however, that have found their way into Oscars lineups. We’ve detailed just five of those Christmas movies that have managed Oscar nominations or wins.

By the way, “The Apartment” is not included on this list (but might be in a future article). The Billy Wilder movie won five Academy Awards including Best Picture (1961) but there seems to be debate around whether it actually qualifies as a Christmas movie or not. It’s set during the holiday period, but some feel that isn’t enough for it to be an out-and-out Christmas movie. Perhaps that’s one for our forums.

This review contains spoilers for the show's visual surprises.

The original 1985 "Back to the Future" movie is a fantasy. It's a teen time travel fantasy about knocking sense into your disappointing parents and ensuring they grow into better people. It's a fantasy where "If You Put Your Mind To It, You Can Accomplish Anything" pays dividends as an adage. It's also a visual effects dream — courtesy of its director-screenwriter Robert Zemeckis and Ilm — that rode the waves of critical and commercial success, two sequels, pop culture homages, and now a "Back to the Future: The Musical."

The famed DeLorean time machine skids onto Broadway's Winter Garden stage, as the West End version dances on. Within a few blinding flashes, the vehicle pops up like magic thanks to Chris Fisher's illusion work and Tim Lutkin & Hugh Vanstone's tactful lighting. Its 3D scan designed by Tim Hatley, the DeLorean feels alive.

Good news for people who grew up delighting in the weirdo charms of Marty McFly and the DeLorean: The new, two-and-a-half-hour “Back to the Future” musical — which officially opened on Broadway Thursday night — is an incredibly faithful retelling of the 1985 movie, down to classic lines (“My dad’s a peeping Tom!”) and awkward as hell relationship drama.

As for everyone else? Well, that’s where the trouble begins in this musical that, for better or worse, often feels more like an amusement park experience than an art production. The thrill ride even begins before the show officially starts, with the whole outer stage and wings set up to look like an ‘80s video game, with scrolling neon lights and mechanical sounds.

Written by Bob Gale (who originally co-wrote the film), the plot is exactly the one you remember. Everyday teenage boy Marty McFly accidentally goes back in time 30 years, thanks...

The original cast of Back To The Future had a mini-reunion this week at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City to promote the musical version of the classic film.

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson gathered to support Back to the Future: The Musical and posed with the singing stars of the musical, Casey Likes and Roger Bart.

Likes plays Fox’s character, Marty McFly, while Bart plays Lloyd’s character Dr. Emmett Brown. Likes is also the third actor to play Marty McFly in the musical — Ben Joyce took on the role before him, and Olly Dobson was the first.

Bart, however, has been the musical’s Doc Brown since the beginning. He is a Tony Award winner and is a Broadway regular as he’s best known for originating the character Carmen Ghia in another musical, The Producers.

@broadwayworld

@Back to the Future Broadway...

Michael J. Fox came face to face with his younger self on Tuesday. Like a time-traveling scene out of “Back to the Future,” the star met Casey Likes, the young actor who plays Marty McFly in the new Broadway musical adaptation of the classic film.

Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson reunited on the red carpet at the Winter Garden Theatre, which was complete with a prop replica of the famous time-traveling DeLorean, before a benefit performance of “Back to the Future: The Musical” for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. A crowd of fans flocked to the theater and stuck through a rainy afternoon to see a pair of Marty McFlys and Doc Browns collide. Fox posed with Likes, and Lloyd shook hands with Roger Bart, who transforms into a wild-haired Doc, before the show started.

“Back to the Future: The Musical” will have its official Broadway opening on Aug.

Back To The Future: The Musical landed on Broadway last week in overdrive: The stage adaptation starring Casey Likes and Roger Bart scored a dizzying $1,035,256 with just four sold-out preview performances at the Winter Garden.

The musical, which opens August 3, features a book by Bob Gale and new music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard – with additional songs from the film including “The Power of Love” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Direction is by John Rando, who did the same for the hit London production.

The million-dollar-tally was a solid contribution to Broadway’s total box office receipts for the week ending July 2. In all, the 33 Broadway productions grossed $33,509,406, holding steady from the previous week. Same for attendance of 272,766, with 89% of available seats filled and the average ticket price at $122.85.

Another recent arrival, Alex Edelman’s acclaimed solo show Just For Us, had a strong opening week at the Hudson,...

Just announced this week, the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2024 includes horror icon Christina Ricci, who finally gets her well-earned star on the Walk of Fame next year.

Christina Ricci is of course a longtime favorite among horror fans, becoming a household name thanks to her performance as Wednesday Addams in the live action Addams Family movies of the 1990s. She just returned to the world of The Addams Family in the Netflix series “Wednesday,” playing a new character for director Tim Burton.

Ricci also starred in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow back in 1999, with other notable genre roles including Casper, Bless the Child, Wes Craven’s Cursed, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, and Showtime’s hit series “Yellowjackets.” Ricci also appeared in Sam Raimi’s series “50 States of Fright,” and most recently starred in the 2022 horror movie Monstrous.

Nominated twice for Primetime Emmy Awards, Christina Ricci’s enduring body...

Post Malone’s tunesmithery was rewarded Thursday night when the Songwriters Hall of Fame gave him the Hal David Starlight Award, named for the lyricist who wrote “Walk on By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” with the late Burt Bacharach. The trophy recognizes young songwriters impacting the music world with original songs.

“I don’t think that I’m deserving of it but I’m so honored and so happy to be among so many legendary names and so many legendary people,...

The 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony felt like a family reunion: Taylor Swift collaborator Liz Rose received a heartwarming performance by her teary-eyed daughter, Gloria Estefan performed lively hits alongside her grandson and husband, and Teddy Riley was joined by his musical brothers from Harlem.

Jeff Lynne and Glen Ballard were also part of the new class, which was celebrated Thursday night in New York City. Egot recipient Tim Rice and Post Malone also received special honors.

Liz Rose, who met Swift in her early teens and co-wrote songs on her first two albums, was honored with an emotional performance by her daughter Caitlin Rose. She sang Swift’s “White Horse,” which won the best country song Grammy in 2010.

The audience at the Marriott Marquis New York cheered Caitlin Rose on as she wiped tears from her face during the touching performance. Her voice cracked at times, beautifully, as she looked at her mother,...

Snoop Dogg has deferred his induction into the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame. The organization made the announcement just two days before this year’s ceremony, stating that he cited “personal reasons” (via Billboard) and will instead be inducted with the class of 2024.

The Long Beach rapper isn’t the only inductee from this year’s class to withdraw from the ceremony. Sade Adu has also deferred, though the Songwriters Hall of Fame has only said she will be inducted with a future class.

Jeff Lynne, Gloria Estefan, Teddy Riley, Glen Ballard, and Liz Rose will still be inducted at the ceremony, where Tim Rice will receive the organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award. Meanwhile, Post Malone will be honored with the Hal David Starlight Award, which was created to celebrate “gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the...

Post Malone is this year’s recipient of a distinguished songwriting award.

On June 15, the “Sunflower” singer will receive the 2023 Hal David Starlight Award, an honour for gifted young songwriters making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.

On Thursday, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that Malone, 27, will receive the award at the 52nd Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner, which will take place this summer at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Read More: Mariah Carey, Neptunes, Annie Lennox In Songwriters Hall Of Fame

“Over the last few years I have had the pleasure of watching Posty become one of the biggest artists in the world and he’s done it by writing phenomenal songs,” Shof Chairman, Nile Rodgers, said in a statement. “Way before Post Malone was a superstar, he was a great songwriter, and this is his...

Thirteen of Michael Jackson‘s songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Some of those songs are incredible. On the other hand, one of them is about a killer rat.

Michael Jackson | Chris Walter / Contributor 13. ‘Ben’

“Ben” is a ballad about a killer rat that became Jackson’s first solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was from the film Ben, the sequel to the killer rat movie Willard. The ballad is more of a weird piece of trivia than a real song.

12. ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’ with Siedah Garrett

Jackson dabbled in numerous genres. Sadly, he wasn’t able to elevate easy-listening music with “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” While this was a No. 1 single during Jackson’s peak period, it doesn’t have an accompanying music video.

11. ‘Say Say Say’

The best thing about “Say Say Say” is that it’s not Jackson’s other Paul McCartney duet,...

Lisa Marie Presley was the closest thing America had to royalty. She was a rock & roll princess, the only daughter of a King. But the rarified existence that Elvis’ fame and success afforded her also confined her — and perhaps presaged her death in January at 54. In an exhaustive feature story, Rs details the heartbreaks, surprise marriages (to Michael Jackson, especially), and troubles with self-identity, substance abuse, and daily life in general that Presley faced. As friend and producer Glen Ballard says, “It was never an easy journey for her.” Here...

Just before 2 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 8, David Kessler was in his room at a hotel near Graceland when he heard a knock on his door. It was his friend Lisa Marie Presley. “Let’s go out,” she said. It was time to visit her father and one of her children.

Kessler, a friend and grief specialist based in Los Angeles, had met Presley in summer 2020, shortly after the death of her son, Ben. That tragedy felt like the latest in a series of upheavals in her life,...

Casey Likes will return to Broadway this summer as Marty McMcFly in Back to the Future: the Musical.

Likes comes to the role, made famous by Michael J. Fox, after making his Broadway debut as William Miller in the new musical Almost Famous this fall. Outside of the theater world, Miller stars as Gene Simmons in the upcoming Neil Bogart biopic Spinning Gold and as the leading role in MGM’s feature Dark Harvest.

He joins the previously announced Roger Bart as Doc Brown and Hugh Coles as George McFly. Both Bart and Coles are reprising their roles from the West End production, which is scheduled to run through July 23, 2023, after opening in September 2021. The West End production won an Olivier Award for best new musical.

Back to the Future: The Musical is scheduled to begin Broadway performances at the Winter Garden Theatre on June 30, ahead of an Aug. 3 opening.

Great Scott! “Back to the Future: The Musical,” which is opening on Broadway this summer after a run in London, has found its Marty McFly in Casey Likes,cwho recently appeared in “Almost Famous: The Musical”. Where Likes goes … he doesn’t need roads.

Likes is joining a cast that includes Tony-winner Roger Bart as Doc Brown and Olivier nominee Hugh Coles as George McFly, both of whom are reprising their roles from the 2021 West End run of the show. (The show previously had a run in Manchester in 2020.) The London production won Best New Musical at the Laurence Olivier Awards. Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.

Based on the 1985 film, “Back to the Future: The Musical” features a book written by original screenwriter Bob Gale and a score by original composer Alan Silvestri, with lyrics by constant collaborator Glen Ballard.

The musical follows the same beats of the original movie,...

Broadway’s Almost Famous star Casey Likes has landed the coveted role of Marty McFly in the upcoming Back To The Future: The Musical, joining the previously announced Roger Bart as Doc Brown.

The casting was announced today by lead producer Colin Ingram with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. On Good Morning America today, Likes was introduced by Bob Gale, co-writer of Back to the Future film trilogy, as the young actor emerged from a DeLorean in Times Square.

Previews of Back To The Future begin Friday, June 30, at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, with an opening night on Thursday, August 3. Also in the cast is Hugh Coles as George McFly, who, like Bart, is reprising his performance from the original West End production.

Likes was named a 2019 finalist at the Jimmy Awards, the nationwide high school musical theater awards presented by the Broadway League. He made his Broadway debut last September as William Miller,...

Every year, there are some truly exceptional songs featured in motion pictures.

Disney and Bond films are almost always guaranteed nominations from the Academy in the Best Original Song category, often winning (as "No Time To Die" did last year).

However, there are plenty of songs that have stood the test of time that you may not even know were Oscar-nominated -- or even that they were originally from a film!

Plenty of nominated songs have gone on to outlast tthe films they came from.

Here's a list to remind you how random, enduring, and inclusive the Best Original Song category has been over the decades.

"9 to 5" - 9 to 5 (1980)

Dolly Parton's first Academy Award nomination was for her upbeat ode to the working woman from the film of the same name.

That year, Best Original Song was a tough category, with "Fame" from Fame taking the prize.

Though Parton lost the Oscar,...

Gloria Estefan, Snoop Dogg, Teddy Riley, Sade Adu, Liz Rose, Glen Ballard and Jeff Lynne will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 15 during the organization’s 52nd annual induction and awards gala in New York City.

Chairman Nile Rodgers shared a statement expressing the importance of songwriters and how, without them, there would be no recorded music, concerts or merch.

“It all starts with the song and the songwriter,” he said. “We are therefore very proud that we are continually recognizing some of the culturally most important songwriters of all time and that the 2023 slate represents not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender, songwriters who have enriched our lives and, in their time, literally transformed music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.”

Estefan is an eight-time Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, whose career has spanned nearly five decades.

Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Sade, Jeff Lynne, Glen Ballard, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose have been chosen to join the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a class that includes the writers of such varied hits as “Man In the Mirror,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.”

The seven songwriters from the class of 2023 will be inducted at a gala June 15 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Read More: Snoop Dogg Says Dionne Warwick ‘Outgangstered’ Him And Tupac Over Misogynistic Lyrics

Snoop Dogg, whose hits include “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Gin & Juice,” will be joining such rappers as Missy Elliott and Jay-Z in the hall. Estefan is credited for popularizing Latin rhythms with such crossover smashes as “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” and “Let’s Get Loud.”

The inductees include soul-jazz vocalist Sade, whose 1980s soft rock hits include “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo,...

Sade Adu (better known simply as Sade), Alanis Morrisette’s longtime collaborator Glen Ballard, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Electric Light Orchestra founder Jeff Lynne, New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley, and Taylor Swift collaborator Liz Rose will become the latest inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 52nd Annual Induction and Awards Gala.

The event is set for Thursday, June 15 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.

The hall announced the latest inductees today, with Chairman Nile Rodgers saying in a statement, “The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter.” He added that the 2023 slate of inductees ” We are therefore very proud that we are continually recognizing some of the...

Lisa Marie Presley, the smoky-voiced singer and songwriter who led a soap opera existence as the only child of Elvis Presley and the first wife of Michael Jackson, has died. She was 54.

Presley died Thursday at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center after an episode of cardiac arrest earlier in the day at her home in Calabasas, California, her mother, actress Priscilla Presley, announced in a statement.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” she said. “She was the most passionate strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment.”

According to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, deputies and fire department personnel arrived...

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Bryan Adams, R.E.M., Blondie, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Heart and The Doobie Brothers are among the nominees for the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame, part of a dazzling list of talented acts who left their mark on country, pop, rap, Broadway, post-punk, Latin and New Jack Swing.

The ballot includes the musical theater duo of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, who wrote Ragtime and Anastasia, as well as soul-jazz vocalist Sade, whose 1980s soft rock hits include “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo.”

Two veteran rock stars are also nominees: Patti Smith — whose songs include “Because the Night” and “Dancing Barefoot” — and Steve Winwood, whose hits include “Higher Love” and “Roll With It.” Vince Gill is once again a nominee, having first made the ballot in 2018.

Eligible voting members have until Dec. 28 to turn in ballots with their choices of three nominees...

In 2002, Christina Aguilera shed her teen pop princess image to reveal something dirtier, rougher, rawer and realer through Stripped, her fourth studio album known for singles like “Dirrty” and “Fighter.” The LP, which celebrates its 20th anniversary today, saw the then-21-year-old maturing her sound and public image fast, darkening her previously platinum blonde hair, and taking control of her sexuality.

“The music I was making on my first album, I was still very much under the thumb of a lot of older men and women,” Aguilera says of her early carer experience.

Time to take a road trip in your DeLorean to next year: a “Back to the Future” musical is coming to Broadway.

The stage musical adaptation of Robert Zemeckis’ beloved sci-fi comedy film will begin preview performances at the Winter Garden Theater on June 30, 2023, with an official opening date set for August 3. The venue currently hosts “The Music Man” revival starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, which will close this January.

The news was announced Friday to coincide with “Back to the Future Day,” which marks the date — October 21 — the main characters of the film time-travel to in the climax. A teaser for the musical was released online, featuring Roger Bart, who plays scientist Doc Brown, and Christopher Lloyd, the original Brown from the films. You can watch that below.

Bart donned Brown’s lab coat in the original British production of the musical, which opened in March 2020 at the...

It’s October 21st, Back to the Future day. Sure, it may be past 2015, but the future is still celebrating this 1980s classic. The musical adaptation of the popular franchise, which won an Olivier Award, will be making its entrance into Broadway this summer. Two of the cast members of the West End shows will be reprising their roles at the Winter Garden Theater production of the musical, Robert Bart as Doc Brown and Hugh Coles as George McFly. The actor who will portray Marty will be announced along with the rest of the cast.

Deadline has new details of the Broadway debut, including a teaser trailer, which includes the original Doc Brown, Christopher Lloyd, making a special appearance. The lead producer, Colin Ingram, says in a statement, “Marty, Doc and everyone in Hill Valley will be living on Broadway and 50th Street for hopefully many years to come and...

Broadway is going Back to the Future this summer when the Olivier Award-winning musical stage adaptation of the 1985 film begins previews at the Winter Garden Theatre. Making the trip stateside will be Roger Bart and Hugh Coles reprising their West End performances as Doc Brown and George McFly.

Broadway previews begin Friday, June 30, ahead of an official opening on Thursday, August 3.

The role of Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox in the film franchise, will be announced soon, as will additional casting.

Producers made the announcement today to coincide with Back To The Future Day, the October 21 date used for the setting of the future events in the film franchise’s Back to the Future Part II. They also released a teaser trailer featuring Bart and the films’ Doc Brown Christopher Lloyd. Watch it below.

Roger Bart (Courtesy Production)

“Marty, Doc and everyone in Hill Valley will be living...

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When caught in that perennial dilemma of going head-to-head with an identical-sounding movie (meteor threatens planet; volcano threatens city; Truman Capote makes friends), it’s probably comforting when a filmmaker can tell himself his competitor is a nobody whose film won’t be a real concern. What you don’t want is for the other movie to be made by Guillermo del Toro — especially when the subject is one the Mexican auteur was practically born to interpret.

But Robert Zemeckis’ live action/CG hybrid version of Pinocchio wouldn’t be in a great spot even without a second ambitious adaptation coming soon. A well-intentioned work that largely falls flat, it arrives today as just another widget in Disney’s “remake ’em all!” agenda, one whose pedigree offered the hope of something better. (At least, unlike Warners, Disney’s profit strategy doesn’t involve...

(from left) Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), Tom Hanks as Geppetto, and Figaro in Disney’s live-action Pinocchio. Photo: Disney Enterprises Contrary to the beliefs of social media lurkers unhappy with equivocating reviews of their favorite intellectual property, Disney does not pay critics, but the studio does frequently—and...

Why are filmmakers so enamored of “Pinocchio”?

Yes, Carlo Collodi’s 1883 tale touches on some timeless themes, like love, loss and lies. But its goal is to teach children by terrifying them. From a modern-day perspective, the concept is weird at best and creepy at worst.

So how come we’re still getting so many versions? There have been at least 65 adaptations, going all the way back to a silent version in 1911 and up to this year, where we have three more in 2022 alone. These variations are rarely successful, and yet new tellers are always convinced they’ve somehow cracked the code.

Also Read:

Disney’s ‘Pinocchio:’ Watch the New Trailer for Robert Zemeckis’ Reimagining (Video)

This edition has been kicking around since 2015, with a variety of writers and directors attached. Robert Zemeckis seems like a natural fit for a kid-friendly blend of live action and CGI animation, but jeepers creepers,...

At this point, complaining about Disney’s deathless drive to cannibalize its entire library of animated classics into live-action remakes can feel as futile as complaining about capitalism itself. The studio has immense IP resources to exploit, a hungry well of content to fill, and a commercial imperative to introduce new generations of kids to the characters they’ll soon be expected to recognize on merch and in theme parks. And in truth, the studio could be doing a lot worse with these trawls through the archives. Once in a while genuine inspiration strikes, and even the least-fortunate of these remakes have mostly just been forgettable.

And yet something feels particularly unnecessary about the Robert Zemeckis-directed “Pinocchio,” which revisits nearly every beat of the 1940 animated classic just months before Guillermo del Toro is set to unveil what appears to be a wildly different interpretation of Carlo Collodi’s nineteenth century source material,...

Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) in Disney’s live-action Pinocchio, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The new trailer, key art and stills from Disney’s live-action “Pinocchio,” premiering on Disney+ Day September 8, are available now. The film stars Tom Hanks, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Bracco, with Cynthia Erivo and Luke Evans. Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live action retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the wood carver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his own son. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; Academy Award® nominee Cynthia Erivo is the Blue Fairy; Keegan-Michael Key is “Honest” John; Academy Award...

The classic children’s tale is brought to live-action in Disney’s “Pinocchio”.

Disney+ released the trailer for its upcoming live-action adaptation of its 1940 animated feature on Wednesday.

The film sees Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in the role of Pinocchio, with Tom Hanks as his puppeteer father and creator Geppetto. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Jiminy Cricket who acts as the boy’s conscience as he embarks on an adventure to learn about what it means to be a real boy.

Read More: Netflix Drops New Trailer For Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’

“Why on earth would you want to be real when you can be famous?” asks the sly fox character.

Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) in Disney’s live-action Pinocchio, exclusively on Disney+. – Photo: Disney Enterprises, Inc. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved (L-r): Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), Tom Hanks as Geppetto, and Figaro in Disney’s live-action Pinocchio,...

Disney+’s upcoming live-action Pinocchio has just released a new trailer, poster, and photos ahead of the film’s September 8, 2022 (“Disney+ Day”) premiere. The new two-minute trailer shows the moment when the wooden toy surprises his dad, Geppetto, by walking, talking, and acting like a real boy. The second trailer also shows the start of Pinocchio’s adventures as he leaves the safety of Geppetto’s toy shop, heads to school, and winds up with Stromboli’s puppet show.

Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis directs a cast that includes Oscar winner Tom Hanks as the woodcarver Geppetto. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor) voices the title character; Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Super Pumped) voices Jiminy Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s guide as well as his “conscience”; two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) is the Blue Fairy; and Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!) is Honest John.

Oscar nominee Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas) is Sofia the Seagull,...

“Why do you want to be real when you can be famous?”

Such is the haunting question at the center of Disney+’s “Pinocchio,” premiering September 8. Co-written and directed by Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis, the live-action/animated hybrid retelling of the beloved classic tale stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as the titular wooden doll who dreams of becoming a real boy.

Yet as “Honest” John (Keegan-Michael Key) lures Pinocchio, a talking puppet, into performing as the “eighth wonder of the world,” it’s up to Geppetto, the Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo), and Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to guide the boy built with “no conscience.”

Lorraine Bracco, Luke Evans, Kyanne Lamaya, Jaquita Ta’Le, Giuseppe Battiston, and Lewin Lloyd also star.

Based on the 1883 Italian book by Carlo Collodi and the 1940 Disney movie, the new “Pinocchio” has been in development since 2015. While a slew of writers and...

Begun, the “Pinocchio” wars have.

This fall there are two high-profile adaptations of Carlo Collodi’s immortal story coming to streaming services. Before Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion version is due closer to Christmas, we are treated to Robert Zemeckis’ lavish re-imagining, which is scheduled to debut on Disney+ Day, Sept. 8, and stars Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo and Luke Evans alongside the vocal talents of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Lorraine Bracco and Keegan-Michael Key. And if you were wondering about this version, a new trailer should illuminate things.

And honestly, it looks like a pretty straightforward remake of the Disney animated classic (largely considered the greatest accomplishment of Walt Disney Animation and certainly the crown jewel of the movies Walt personally supervised) – there’s a lot of vibrant colors and dynamic camera movement and the character animation looks pretty great and true to the original. It’s hard because...

Pinocchio might not be a real boy just yet, but he definitely is a real puppet.

Disney Plus has released the first trailer for “Pinocchio,” a live-action remake of the classic 1940 animated movie of the same name, which hits the service in September.

Based on the classic 1883 children’s book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Italian author Carlo Collodi, “Pinocchio” stars Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who provides his voice to the living puppet. Pinocchio is the creation of Geppetto (Tom Hanks), a childless woodcarver, who wishes on a star for Pinocchio to become a real boy. His wish is heard by a Blue Fairy (Cynthia Erivo), who visits his shop and brings the puppet to life. An overjoyed Geppetto raises him like his own son, but for Pinocchio to become a real boy instead of just a living puppet, he’ll need to go on a coming-of-age journey and learn how to be selfless,...

Exclusive: A gleaming, stainless steel Dmc DeLorean is ready for its star turn in New York. Phantom of the Opera has its chandelier, while Miss. Saigon boasted a helicopter hovering into view. And now, the Broadway-bound hit West End musical Back to the Future is revving up with a scene-stealing DeLorean time machine.

At a recent matinee performance at London’s Adelphi Theatre of Back to the Future, based on the 1985 movie starring Michael J. Fox, written by Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and directed by Zemeckis, grown men — many with partners and children — gave their loudest cheers when the DeLorean made its appearance. It arrived in a haze of smoke and flashing blue and white lights some 20 minutes into the first act. “It does get them excited,” the show’s lead producer, Colin Ingram, marveled. “Especially when it travels for the first time, back to 1955,” he said.

The British-designed,...

The West End hit musical Back to the Future will, as widely expected, get a Broadway staging in 2023, producers confirmed in a tweet today.

“Synchronize Your Watches — The Future’s coming to Broadway in 2023!!!,” the tweet, which includes a brief teaser clip, says.

Production details, including casting and dates, were not announced.

The musical, based on the 1985 hit film that starred Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, features music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard and a book by Bob Gale, adapted from the original screenplay by Robert Zemeckis and Gale. The West End production, which opened in 2021, stars Olly Dobson in the Fox role of Marty McFly, and Roger Bart as Emmett “Doc” Brown, played in the film by Lloyd.

Back to the Future was named Best New Musical at the 2022 Olivier Awards.

Check out the teaser below.

Synchronize Your Watches — The Future's coming to Broadway in...

The West End production of Cabaret featuring Eddie Redmayne leads the roster of 2022 Olivier Awards nominations released Tuesday, with the musical revival scoring 11 nominations.

Winners will be announced April 10 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, marking the first in-person ceremony for the Oliviers since Covid hit two years ago.

See the complete list of nominations below.

In addition to Redmayne, who was nominated in the Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as the Emcee, Cabaret was nominated for Best Musical Revival, as well as nods for actors Jessie Buckley, Liza Sadovy and Elliot Levey. Also nominated were the revival’s costume and scenic designs, sound design, choreography and lighting.

Sutton Foster, currently co-starring with Hugh Jackman in Broadway’s The Music Man, earned a Best Actress in a Musical nomination for her portrayal of Reno Sweeney in the West End revival of Anything Goes.

The complete list of...

Jagged Little Pill, the Grammy and Tony Award-winning musical inspired by Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name, is closing for good, The New York Times reports. It’s the first major Broadway show casualty ending due to Omicron.

The news comes following the production suspending performances beginning last Saturday, citing “a limited number of positive Covid test results.” On Monday night, the producers announced the show would end its run for good.

“The drastic turn of events this week with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant has,...

Alanis Morissette’s jukebox musical Jagged Little Pill is being turned into a novel that will be published April 26, 2022 via Abrams’ imprint Amulet.

The novelization was spearheaded by young adult author Eric Smith, with help from the show’s creators, Morissette, Diablo Cody, and Glen Ballard. Per a release, Jagged Little Pill: The Novel uses the musical’s story as a jumping point while offering a deeper look at the lives of the various characters.

Jagged Little Pill follows the intertwined lives of five teenagers whose lives are upturned after...

Glen Ballard, co-writer and producer of Jagged Little Pill, has a couple of exciting projects up his sleeve at the moment In the first episode of the new season ofthe Eleven podcast hosted by William Connolly, he shares adapting The Rose for the stage and he also discusses the live-action remake of Pinocchio. Check out some snippets of the conversation below.