1844 , half of the iconic 1880s writing and performing team of Harrigan and Hart, is born. He and Tony Hart create the popular Mulligan Guards characters reflecting New York's immigrant polyglot. In 1985, he becomes the subject of the Broadway musical .
1931 Opening night of , 's epic nine-hour reimagining of the Greek Oresteia as a saga of the American Civil War. Starring and , it runs at the Guild Theatre.
1946 A revival of , by , opens at the Booth Theatre. and both make their Broadway debut in the production. The show has as its star, and the staging is done by .
1955 Opening night of , 's comedy, starring , , , and .
1965 plays the Inca king whose country was attacked by conquistador Francisco Pizarro, played by , in 's . Directed by , it runs at the ANTA Theatre.
1968 An investment of $130,000 by the Theater 1969 repertory company is lost as they give up after only a two week trial. The group was organized to produce a series of straight dramas at the Billy Rose Theatre (now the Nederlander), including works by and . Frank Rich called the project "the most adventuresome experiment Broadway has seen in years." But adventuresome doesn't always mean successful. The group just couldn't seem to find an audience in the already "economically troublesome year," as put by Otis L. Guernsey in his The Best Plays of 1968鈥�1969.
1971 Birthday of , who rises to fame as the original Mark Cohen in , and who later appears in the title role of .
1974 The first day of rehearsals for the musical . Choreographer-director is hospitalized shortly after, though, and the opening of the show is postponed until June 3, 1975. Original cast members , , and are all present for the first rehearsal.
2000 Opening night of and 's , a musical adaptation of the hit British film about a group of unemployed blue-collar workers who become male strippers in order to pay their bills. Featuring , , , and , it runs at the O'Neill Theatre.
2001 begins performances on her solo show, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival. Directed by , the show earns raves, , and eventually wins the 2002 Tony Award for Outstanding Special Event.
2003 , , , and are among Ziegfeld Follies alumni who gather at Broadway's restored New Amsterdam Theatre to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the grand playhouse on 42nd Street.
2006 Director-choreographer Twyla Tharp uses Bob Dylan's greatest hits to tell the story of an unhappy circus troupe under Captain Ahrab's control in The Times They Are A-Changin' at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The productions stars Michael Arden, Lisa Brescia, and Thom Sesma.
2010 Musicians , , , , and conjure the iconic British rock group the Beatles in , which opens at the Neil Simon Theatre. The multi-media concert features the band's greatest hits performed live and note-for-note.
2012 A new musical Giant, starring Kate Baldwin, Brian D'Arcy James, and P.J. Griffith, sweeps into the Public Theater. The Michael John LaChiusa-Sybille Pearson musical is based on Edna Ferber's sweeping Texas-set novel about love, greed, and power that spans generations. Michael Greif directs.
2014 , a folk-rock musical with music and lyrics by 鈥攊nspired by the songwriter's own childhood鈥攐pens on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre. Directed by , it stars , , , and . Sting himself joins the cast for a limited engagement midway through the run.
2017 returns to Broadway for the first time since to direct a revival of 's at the Cort Theatre. stars as French diplomat Rene Gallimard, who falls for a mysterious Beijing opera singer named Song Liling, played by .
More of Today's Birthdays: (1881鈥�1956), (b. 1946), (b. 1952), Robert Westenberg (b. 1953), Cynthia Sophiea (b. 1954), Rita Wilson (b. 1956), Patrick Breen (b. 1960), Tom Cavanagh (b. 1963), (b. 1973), Chaz Lamar Shepherd (b. 1977), Beau Willimon (b. 1977), Emilia Clark (b. 1986).
Watch highlights from the 2014 Broadway musical The Last Ship:
