1882 Birthday of , Hungarian-born actor who plays a variety of character roles before landing the part that makes him an icon, the title role in Dracula, , then on film.
1889 Birthday of , Broadway actor in and , who is best known as a comic foil for on Broadway and in film.
1894 Birthday of , a Ziegfeld girl and Vargas pinup who makes only one Broadway appearance, in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1915. She dies in 1920, possibly of suicide, and her spirit is believed to haunt Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre, with .
1904 Opening night of Higgledy-Piggledy, a musical revue with , , , and other period stars. Its 185-performance success helps inspire producer to try three years later for a more sophisticated revue, which he dubs his Follies.
1908 Little Nemo, composer 's musical adaptation of the popular comic strip of the same name, opens on Broadway for a 111-performance run.
1923 Opening night of the , at 233 performances one of the longest-running of the series, featuring , , and . The score features music by Victor Herbert and .
1935 Birth date of , star of TV's Law & Order, who has a long career in musicals, originating the roles of El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Billy Flynn in , Julian Marsh in , and Chuck Baxter in .
1947 The National Theatre is host for the opening of ' rendition of the Greek classic by . directs and stars in the production, along with and (making her Broadway debut). Anderson's portrayal of the title character is "a burning performance in a savage part," according to Brooks Atkinson. He says that she "understands the character more thoroughly than Medea, Euripides or the scholars, and it would be useless now for anyone else to attempt the part." The show runs 214 performances.
1954 The musical shows audiences how fun it is to be a kid as it opens at the Winter Garden Theatre. The show is based on the 1904 fantasy by and features a score by , , , , and . in the title role wins critical acclaim as she performs with her 12-year-old daughter (playing Liza, the maidservant) and as menacing Captain Hook. Walter Kerr reports that he "doesn't know what all the fuss is about. I always knew Mary Martin could fly." Although very well received by critics and a following that is too big to imagine, the original production runs only 152 performances. Future Broadway revivals star () and (, , , ).
1955 's comedy opens at the Alvin Theatre, making a star of . It runs 796 performances.
1962 The musical opens on Broadway and proves to be the swan song for composer , who subsequently retires at age 74. He lives on to be 101.
1964 stars in the musical , opening at the Majestic Theatre. Based on ' play about a black boxer who falls for his manager's white girlfriend, it has songs by and . It runs 568 performances.
1977 's valentine to the stage, A Life in the Theatre, opens Off-Broadway at the Theatre De Lys. This comedy is not only about two actors but also about mentors in general and the rites of passage between teachers and disciples. Ellis Rabb and Peter Evans star in the production, which runs 288 performances. The play is turned into a made-for-TV film in 1993 with and , and with and .
1977 and 's sets are the stars of , and 's adaptation of 's novel. The show runs for 925 performances, and wins the Tony Award for Most Innovative Production of a Revival.
1988 The Cocktail Hour by begins its 350-show run at the Promenade Theatre. plays a woman whose son, played by , has written a play about his family.
1992 continues his AIDS drama The Normal Heart with The Destiny of Me at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Future Hedwig and the Angry Inch star and creator stars in the production, which receives mixed reviews. and are also in the cast. The show runs 175 performances.
2002 Popular French composer makes his Broadway debut with the musical , adapted from his Paris hit Le Passe Muraille, about a mousy man who acquires the magical ability to walk through walls. and star. The show is judged too slight for Broadway and closes after just a three-week run.
2005 ' musical opens on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre. In the show, an androgynous angel-like character flies through heaven and plots "God's reality opera," which stars a singer-songwriter who has Tourette syndrome. It also includes a band of pirates, dancing skeletons, and heavenly denizens singing jingles about Dr. Pepper and Volkswagen. , , and star. Baffling critics and audiences alike, In My Life closes after 61 performances. One of the actors making his Broadway debut in the production is swing and dance captain , who returns to Broadway one year later to star in the musical .
2011 , an evening of one-act comedies written by , and , opens on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. directs a cast that includes , , , , , and .
2015 The world premiere of 's Ripcord opens Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club. and star in the comedy about two roommates who butt heads in an assisted living facility.
2016 A revival of , and 鈥檚 classic 1928 comedy set in the world of the Chicago newspaper business, opens at the Broadhurst Theatre. The star-studded company includes , , , , , Holland Taylor, and .
2019 American Utopia, the theatrical concert event from former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, officially opens on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre. A filmed version, directed by Spike Lee, debuts on HBO the following year.
More of Today's Birthdays: (1875-1944). (1890-1941). (1895-1985). (1907-2001). (b. 1976.).
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