1909 Birthday of Broadway star , who creates many landmark roles including Blanche DuBois in , Agnes in , and Fonsia in . She wins an Academy Award as Best Actress for playing Miss Daisy in the film adaptation of .
1928 Composer is born on this day. He writes the music for Broadway musicals , , , and .
1974 Steve Silver鈥檚 Beach Blanket Babylon begins performances in San Francisco at the Savoy Tivoli. The campy spoof of pop culture runs for 45 years, making it the longest running musical revue in theatre history.
1998 In a surprise victory, wins Best Musical over the predicted winner at the 1998 Tony Awards hosted at Radio City Music Hall. The Lion King also wins the awards for best direction () and choreography, and for costume, set, and lighting design. Yasmina Reza鈥檚 British import, , takes Best Play over Martin McDonaugh鈥檚 , although the Irish drama still manages to walk away with four awards. and , both produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, earn the awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Play, respectively.
2001 鈥檚 Chaucer in Rome opens Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center鈥檚 Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.
2011 One of the more bizarre and influential chapters in American pop music history comes to light with the Off-Broadway opening of Joy Gregory, John Langs, and Gunnar Madsen鈥檚 musical The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. , , , , , Jamey Hood, , and star in the co-production between Playwrights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop, at Playwrights Horizons鈥� Mainstage Theater.
2012 The world premiere of s Medieval Play opens Off-Broadway at The Irene Diamond Stage in The Pershing Square Signature Center. Set in the late 14th century, the comedy stars and as two French mercenary knights.
2016 Performances of , , and s begin at London鈥檚 Palace Theatre. The play picks up where the final Harry Potter novel left off, with Harry and Ginny bringing their son Albus, and Hermione and Ron bringing their daughter Rose, to King鈥檚 Cross Station for their first trip to Hogwarts. The production wins a record nine Olivier Awards, including Best New Play. opens in 2018.
2017 The New York premiere of Martyna Majok鈥檚 Cost of Living opens Off-Broadway at . The play, exploring the interactions of abled and disabled individuals, wins the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
2017 MCC Theater's world premiere of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City opens. Beth Behrs makes her New York stage debut leading the cast of the Halley Feiffer play about two strangers who meet in a hospital.
More of Today鈥檚 Birthdays: (1924鈥�2002); (b. 1951); (b. 1952); (b. 1953); (b. 1957); (b. 1988).
Watch highlights from the 1998 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, :
