1787 Birthday of British actor Edmund Kean, considered one of the finest actors of the early 18th century. Among his greatest roles was Shakespeare's Richard III. He is the subject of the 1961 musical , starring , and the 1983 solo play starring .
1879 Birthday of William Penn Adair Rogers, better known as rope-twirling comic philosopher , star of the Ziegfeld Follies and other Broadway shows, and later, movies. He is the subject of the 1991 musical, .
1905 stars as dog trainer Jim Cheese in the Broadway premiere of the British musical The Earl and the Girl, which runs 148 performances at the Casino Theatre. gets one of his earliest Broadway assignments writing the interpolated song, "How'd You Like To Spoon With Me?," which is staged with chorus girls issuing the invitation while swinging over the front of the audience in flower-bedecked swings.
1914 After the exposed flesh in The Passing Show of 1914 disturbs Boston mayor Curley, the city's "Purity Squad" threatens producers who allow bare legs in their shows. They agree to have their chorines wear tights and "knee panties."
1937 stars as a conflicted boxer in ' drama , which opens at the Belasco Theatre under the auspices of the Group Theatre, and goes on to run 250 performances. It is with in the 1960s.
1954 Future legend makes his debut as a Broadway producer with the musical at the Majestic Theatre, starring (Tony Award), , and . Based on 's stories of romance on the waterfront in old Marseilles, it runs 888 performances.
1959 Although reports had come in recently stating that the new and musical was going to be called Jenny Kiss'd Me, the new title is announced in Variety. It is , which opens on December 3, 1960.
1981 The original cast of the workshop production of are the stars in the Broadway production, opening at the John Golden Theatre. The play won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and runs on Broadway for 535 performances.
1990 opens at the Shubert Theatre. The cast, led by as Buddy Holly, is under the direction of . The musical concerns the life of the late rock 'n' roll legend and features Holly's music in the score. Though was hurried to its closing the previous spring to make way for the London hit, Buddy runs on Broadway for only 225 performances.
1990 The woman whose grandchildren introduced her as "Peter Pan," , dies at age 76. Martin, who was known for her exuberant voice and high-spirited demeanor, will always be remembered for , , and her portrayal of Maria in the original stage version of .
2010 The bustling excitement of Madrid in the late 1980s comes to life at the Belasco Theatre in the world-premiere musical , starring , , and . Written by and , the musical is based on 's Oscar-nominated 1988 film.
2012 , the dapper At This Theatre columnist, writer, and editor for 半岛体育 for more than 40 years, dies at age 88. In addition to writing for 半岛体育 from 1971 until his retirement in September 2012, Botto also wrote the book At This Theatre based on his popular columns, wrote for Look magazine, and contributed a sketch to the Broadway revue .
2013 The world premiere of ' Domesticated, starring and as a political couple whose marriage is thrust into the public eye by scandal, opens Off-Broadway at 's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.
2018 , , , and star in 's American Son, opening at the Booth Theatre. directs the drama set in a Miami police station, where a separated, interracial couple grapples with the disappearance of their teenage son.
More of Today's Birthdays: 1881. 1917. 1918. 1919. 1930. 1937. 1950. 1961. 1979.
Watch Laura Benanti perform "Model Behavior" in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown:
