1865 Birthday of , who acts under the names Minnie Maddern, Minnie Maddern Fiske, and Mrs. Fiske. Performer, director, and producer of many dramas before and after the turn of the 20th century, most notably , Tess of d'Urbervilles, , The Light from St. Agnes, and The Eyes of the Heart.
1902 Actor is born in Gloucestershire, England. He makes his stage debut in 1921 as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice, and goes on to become one of the major actors of Great Britain in the post-World War II period.
1910 , who chronicles society's outcasts, is born in Paris, France. His works include The Maids, The Balcony, The Screens, and The Blacks, the last of which has a long Off-Broadway run in the 1960s.
1919 For the Defense details the shooting of a sinister hypnotist, the trial of an innocent girl, and the lawyer who loves her. The melodrama stars and .
1933 ' , about a high-spirited Southern belle whose decision to wear a scarlet dress destroys her life, opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, and stays for just 32 performances. It becomes a major hit, however, when wins an Oscar for the 1938 film adaptation.
1951 and open a limited engagement of 's at the Ziegfeld Theatre, in repertory with 's . The production sells out more than half of its 67 performances before opening night.
1957 and make musical theatre history in which opens at the Majestic Theatre. takes on the writing solo, penning the book, lyrics, and score from a story he and devised. It wins the Tony Award for Best Musical, and marches on for 1,375 performances.
1985 A musical version of the children's classic opens a disappointing 4-performance run at the Nederlander Theatre, but boasts a cast that features as Toad, as Rat, as Mole, as Chief Weasel, and a supporting cast that includes , , , and .
1989 plays Shylock in a major revival of Shakespeare's . Notable moment: one of Shylock's tormentors spits on him full in the face.
1991 introduces his solo holiday reading/performance of ' , in which Stewart plays all the parts. Stewart later repeats his performance in three Broadway revivals, in , , and .
1996 plays gawky Princess Winifred in a Broadway revival of . It runs 188 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre.
1997 makes her Broadway debut as Anna in . Osmond replaces , who was the first replacement after the production's original Anna, the Tony Award-winning .
2001 Barely three months after the 9/11 attacks, Pulitzer winner opens his play about Afghani politics and terrorism, Homebody/Kabul, Off-Broadway at .
2011 The world premiere of Molly Smith Metzler's comedy Close Up Space, starring Tony Award winner as a harried book editor, opens at 's Off-Broadway home at New York City Center Stage I.
2013 The world premiere of , , and 's musical Stephen Ward opens at the West End's Aldwych Theatre. stars in the title role, opposite Charlotte Spencer and Joanna Riding. The show charts the rise and fall of society osteopath Stephen Ward, whose affair with the young and beautiful Christine Keeler led to one of the biggest political scandals and trials of the 20th century. It receives mixed reviews, and closes after a run of less than four months.
More of Today's Birthdays: (b. 1924). Robert B. Sherman (1925-2012). (1928-1974). Mel Gussow (1933-2005). (b. 1945). Scott Cohen (b. 1961). (b. 1973). (b. 1980).
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