1911 Love is never easy, especially when a woman is the object of affection for The Scarecrow. uses 's 1852 "Feathertop" as a starting point for the drama, and stages the production.
1931 Birthday of , resonant-voiced, two-time Tony Award-winning actor: for in 1969 and in 1987. Broadway appearances include , , , , , , and . He's also known for voicing the characters of Mufasa in Disney's film The Lion King and Darth Vader in Star Wars.
1938 Opening night for , a "living newspaper" revue of sketches about life during the Depression, created by the Federal Theatre Project of the WPA. It runs 237 performances at the Adelphi Theatre.
1967 The Promise, 's Russian play about three young people who've survived the siege of Leningrad, runs at the Fortune Theatre in London. , , and star. It plays 289 performances.
1968 A double-bill of plays runs at Astor Place Theatre in New York: The Indian Wants the Bronx starring , , and , and It's Called the Sugar Plum starring . directs.
1969 Broadway composer dies at age 65. Duke's music filled theatres from the West End to Broadway. Among many memorable songs are "April in Paris" with and "I Can't Get Started" with .
1991 stars as Lyndon B. Johnson in Off-Broadway's Lyndon at the John Houseman Theatre. The solo show by is based on Merle Miller's Lyndon: An Oral Biography.
2004 , 88, the Tony Award-nominated producer who brought the musical to Broadway and later to the movies (his mother-in-law was ), dies of heart failure in West Hollywood.
2008 In the midst of the presidential primary season, opens his political comedy , about an entertainingly corrupt U.S. President (played by ), who tries to leverage a turkey-pardoning into a surprise second term. It runs 205 performances at the Barrymore Theatre.
2012 The Broadway premiere of 's , a three-actor play about an expressive, inspirational South African artist, played by , and the forces that wish to quiet her () and celebrate her (), opens at the 's American Airlines Theatre.
2013 Broadway swelters as the past, present, and an uncertain future perfume the stage of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where a revival of ' 1955 family drama , starring and , opens in a limited 15-week engagement.
More of Today's Birthdays: 1880. 1920. 1927. 1933. 1933. 1949. 1957. 1962. 1963.
Watch highlights from Driving Miss Daisy, starring James Earl Jones and :
