1879 World premiere of and 's The Pirates of Penzance at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York, with Alice Barnett as Ruth.
1905 Birthday of , who composes the scores for Broadway's , , , , , and many more.
1906 Brewster's Millions is the tale of a lucky young man who must spend a million dollars in order to earn another million. Adapted from 's story by and , the show has a cast that includes and the debut of the fictitious actor . Spelvin, a favorite of author Smith, would be employed whenever a name is needed for a dead body on stage, a doll used as a babe-in arms, or when an actor is 'doubling' parts.
1917 writes for and directs his wife in . This comedy runs at the Criterion Theatre in New York for 136 performances.
1923 is, not surprisingly, , who also wrote and produced the comedy at the Hudson Theatre. The story highlights the redemption of an unemployed entertainer who turned to robbery [instead of waiting tables].
1925 Playwright marries writer .
1996 becomes a Lord. The composer of such hit musicals as , , and is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at the annual ceremony.
1999 Usually a big night on Broadway, this New Year's Eve sees many shows canceling performances owing to the size of expected crowds ushering in the 2000's.
2005 The Broadway trade group the League of American Theatres and Producers announces that Broadway has enjoyed its most prosperous year ever, taking in $825 million, up ten percent from the previous year.
2011 The West End production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert closes after a run of over 1,000 performances at the Palace Theatre. The musical about the adventures of a trio of drag queens who journey across the Australian Outback, opened in London on March 23, 2009.
2014 makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in the operetta The Merry Widow, playing the role of Valencienne. Directed and choreographed by , the production stars in the title role. Fleming makes her Broadway debut a few months later in the short-lived comedy .
More of Today's Birthdays: (1892-1963). (1910-1971). (1917-1961). Anthony Hopkins (b. 1937). (b. 1958). (b. 1959). (b. 1972). Andy Grotelueschen (b. 1979). (b. 1986). Micah Stock (b. 1988). Den茅e Benton (b. 1991).
