1886 Birthday of , half of the comedy team of Willie and , who appear in vaudeville, in musicals and , and in various editions of revues including Ziegfeld Follies, The Passing Show, and George White's Scandals.
1925 The on West 52nd Street in New York opens with a production of 's . stars as the young queen opposite . Designed by Howard Crane and founded by members of , it becomes a radio playhouse from 1943鈥�1950. It is later purchased by and returns to presenting live theatre. It is known today as the August Wilson Theatre.
1926 's Autumn Fire is presented at the Little Theatre in London for an eight week run. leads the cast.
1926 Helen Hayes plays Maggie Shand, a role made famous by , in 's . The revival runs beyond the season, closing after 268 performances.
1933 Broadway opening night of and 's landmark . It closes after just 12 performances, but is revived for a phenomenal seven-year Off-Broadway run in 1954.
1938 produces and directs . 's comedy concerning the goings on of a high school stars , , and . It has a long run at the Biltmore Theatre and later becomes the basis for a radio show.
1940 Birthday of playwright , who goes on to write The Hot l Baltimore, , , , and the Pulitzer Prize-winning .
1957 The musical , based on the Archy and Mehitabel stories, opens a six-week run on Broadway, with lyrics by and book (his first for Broadway) by .
1994 It's as easy as A-B-C for , whose Three Tall Women opens at the Promenade Theatre following a run at the . , , and play the trifecta that embody the same woman at different ages. The previous day, the play was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
1995 's play The Cryptogram opens at the Westside Upstairs Theatre. The play about a father who leaves his wife and son stars Ed Begley Jr., , and Shelton Dane.
2000 's Broadway musical opens at the Virginia Theatre. It's the second New York musical of the season to be based on the 1928 poem by . Composer-lyricist LaChiusa wrote the libretto with , who directs the production. , , and star.
2003 The beloved characters of 's children's book come to life in the Broadway musical , which goes on to be nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
2004 Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians and the producers of the Off-Broadway show The Joys of Sex: A Naughty New Musical reach an agreement on the use of the "virtual orchestra" machine. The union was ready to rally at the first preview of the show at Off-Broadway's Variety Arts Theatre. The deal struck allows use of the machine for the production, but future stagings鈥攆or the next ten years鈥攁t the Variety Arts will need approval from the union. Sadly, The Joys of Sex is the final theatrical production at the theatre, and it is torn down a year later.
2011 The world premiere of Betty Blue Eyes, featuring a score by and , opens at the West End's Novello Theatre. produces the musical based on 's film comedy A Private Function about a pig being illegally reared to ensure local dignitaries can celebrate the Royal Wedding with a lavish banquet, while the local population make do with spam.
2014 returns to Broadway as Billie Holiday in 's play with music, , opening at Circle in the Square. directs the limited engagement. McDonald wins her record-breaking sixth Tony Award for her performance.
2017 ' political drama opens on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, following an acclaimed engagement at Off-Broadway's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. The play is based on the true story of a couple that organized secret peace talks between Israel and the PLO in Norway 1993. It wins the Tony Award for Best Play.
More of Today's Birthdays: (1906-1989). (1919-2004). (1925-1979). (1931-1988). (b. 1961).
Watch highlights from the 2014 Broadway production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, starring Audra McDonald:
