1768 Birthday of John Durang, identified by scholars as one of the first American-born professional dancers and actors. He becomes known for his "Dwarf Dance," "Sailor's Hornpipe," and circus appearances, as well as acting roles in Philadelphia (then the American theatre capital), New York, and on tour throughout the early United States. Durang is also a puppeteer, clown, singer, and rope-dancer. He is a distant ancestor of author and performer .
1902 The Toreador is actually a discharged servant who tries bullfighting, mixing with a mad anarchist's bomb plot, and singing too! The musical plays the arena of the Knickerbocker Theatre for 146 performances. Music is provided by and . is the man behind the cape.
1930 An American soldier on leave meets a chorus girl on . 's drama stars and . directs the 64 performances.
1937 stars in at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. Director designed the production for the Opera House in Central City, Colorado before overseeing its odyssey East.
1950 stars in the opening night of the musical fantasy , which had been a major hit in London, but suffers a three-performance flop on Broadway.
1954 Twelfth Night directed by is at London's Old Vic. The cast includes , , and .
1963 's hit West End musical arrives in New York at the Imperial Theatre. A cast including (Nancy), (Fagin), (Mr. Sowerberry), and a pre-Monkees (The Artful Dodger) introduce Broadway audiences to songs such as "Where Is Love?," "Consider Yourself," and "As Long As He Needs Me." The production runs 774 performances.
1974 opens her at the Winter Garden Theatre. The evening is directed and choreographed by , features original musical material written by and , and includes as musical coordinator.
1975 's runs at the Vivian Beaumont Theater for 41 performances.
1983 stars as a former member of the French resistance who searches for meaning in her postwar life in 's drama, , which opens at the Plymouth Theatre, and runs 92 performances.
1990 , choreographer for , is awarded a $175,000 settlement from the Nederlanders. Shawn claimed he was fired because he tested positive for the AIDS virus.
2005 , the respected downtown Manhattan theatre auteur, unveils his latest cerebral vaudeville, The Gods Are Pounding My Head (Lumberjack Messiahs) at the Off-Off-Broadway Ontological Theatre. The theatre says it's to be the last in a series that goes back to the 1960s.
2017 directs a revival of 's musical Candide for New York City Opera, starring , , and . Prince previously won a Tony Award for his direction of a of the musical.
More of Today's Birthdays: (1944-2013). (b. 1955). Cara Seymour (b. 1964). A.R. Rahman (b. 1966). Genevieve O'Reilly (b. 1977). (b. 1982).
