1912 Another upbeat musical hit for and his family: Broadway Jones, which opens a 176-performance run at Cohan's eponymous theatre.
1925 And another satirical comedy hit for New York Times theatre editor : , which begins a 243-performance run at the Longacre Theatre.
1930 provides the first complete hit Broadway musical score composed by a woman with , starring . Despite the Depression, the show manages a 255-performance run.
1946 The New York Drama Critics Circle votes to ensure a "best play" citation every year, no matter what the quality of the year's offerings. The 1946鈥�1947 season poses no problem, however; 's post-war classic, , is the winner for Best American Play.
1954 Birthday of director and playwright , who puts his stamp on the American theatre as artistic director of The New York Shakespeare Festival/The Public Theater (1993鈥�2004), and as director of productions including ; ; ; ; and .
1968 The Juilliard School starts its new four-year program of the Drama Division. The school's director calls the first class of students, which includes and , "Group I". Among other graduates of the prestigious school are , , and .
1974 Despite , opens in a revival of at the Winter Garden Theatre. Following in the footsteps of the legendary was probably very frightening, but Lansbury wins over everyone. Variety critic Hobe Morrison reports, however, that she had "visible stage fright during much of the first act." The production runs 120 performances.
1987 Legendary dancer and choreographer, , dies at age 60 while walking down a Washington, D.C. street with wife . He had been directing a revival of Sweet Charity at the National Theatre. Fosse's style of choreography will always be remembered from the original Broadway productions of and . A hit musical revue of his choreography, , opens on Broadway in 1999 and wins the 1999 Tony Award for Best Musical.
1998 Previews begin for the premiere of 's latest play, Impossible Marriage, at the 's Off-Broadway space, the Laura Pels. and co-star with in the production from the author of the Pulitzer-winning . Hunter is not a stranger to the work of the noted playwright, as she also starred in Henley's and in both the stage and film versions of The Miss Firecracker Contest.
2001 Unexpected drama on the stage of the Martin Beck Theatre: , which was supposed to close in the wake of the WTC attacks, gets an 11th-hour reprieve when the cast agrees to give back part of their salaries to buy tickets for the show (donated to firefighters and relief workers). The tearful announcement is made from the stage after the final curtain, at which the producer tears up the closing notice. The show goes on to run through the end of the year. Others aren't so lucky: plunging box office receipts kayo , , Bat Boy, , and , all of which play their final performances today.
2002 The Actors Fund hosts a special concert version of the musical Funny Girl with numerous stage stars alternating in the title role of Fanny Brice. These include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and .
2002 The final issue of Show Music magazine appears. The glossy quarterly bible for lovers of musical theatre was founded in the early 1980s, and was taken under the wing of Connecticut-based in 1991. The magazine was cherished by readers who sought news and reviews about musicals and cast albums from Broadway and around the world, but was not a moneymaker for Goodspeed.
2003 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presents the key to to its new owner, artistic director , at a special celebration commemorating the non-profit's purchase of the former discotheque as its new Broadway home. Actually, it's full-circle for the space, which started life in the 1920s as a theatre: The Gallo Opera House.
2005 The Classical Theatre of Harlem opens its production of Medea, adapted and directed by Alfred Preisser. April Yvette Thompson stars in the title role with Lawrence Winslow as Jason.
More of Today's Birthdays: Baronness Orczy (1865-1947); (1880-1947); (1897-1984); (1920-2014); (b. 1934); (b. 1959).
Watch highlights from the 2016 Broadway production of George C. Wolfe's Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed:
