Today in Theatre History, presented by Playbill

October 26–November 1, 2020: Life is a banquet as Rosalind Russell opens in Auntie Mame, Idina Menzel gets Wicked, and Patrick Wilson strips in The Full Monty, and more theatrical doings this week in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October 19–25, 2020: Julie Andrews returns to Broadway in Victor/Victoria, Patti LuPone returns to Broadway in Anything Goes, and Pippin and A Chorus Line both premiere on Broadway, and more in this week’s theatre history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October 12–18, 2020: In 1965, Barbara Harris opens in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and one year and a day later she opens in The Apple Tree, for which she wins a Tony. Plus Hugh Jackman steals audiences hearts (and other organs) in The Boy From Oz, Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner become overnight stars in Side Show, and more in this weeks’ theatre history! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October 5–11, 2020: Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig get sweaty in A Steady Rain, Deborah Kerr requests that when you speak of her, you’ll be kind in Tea and Sympathy, Elaine Stritch ponders—raucously—why the wrong people travel in Sail Away, and more from this week in theatre history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

September 28–October 4, 2020: Cats, Big Fish, Swan Lake, and non-animale titled shows opened this week in theatre history—plus premieres of musicals as varied as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

September 21-27, 2020: 20 years later, Merman returns in a revival of Annie Get Your Gun, Angela Lansbury opens in Gypsy, and Elizabeth Ashley becomes an icon in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

September 14–20, 2020: Happy birthday, Bacall! Also, Song & Dance opens, eventually winning Bernadette Peters her first Tony, and The Threepenny Opera becomes an Off-Broadway hit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

September 7–13, 2020: Rob McClure is Chaplin, Rent comes to an end, and Carnival in Flanders and The Man Who Reclaimed His Head both begin short Broadway runs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 31–September 6, 2020: Sophie Tucker gets a black eye, Nathan Lane gets blacklisted, and Follies comes to concert this week in theatre history! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 24–30, 2020: Largely forgotten today but the longest-running Broadway play for two decades at one time, Lightin’ opens in 1918, while 42nd Street opens in 1980. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 17–23, 2020: Broadway audiences hear “I Am What I Am” for the first time when La Cage Aux Folles opens at the Palace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 10–16, 2020: Hairspray and Pretty Woman both opened on Broadway this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 3–9, 2020: Liza to the rescue, Hamilton settles in to the Richard Rodgers, and more in theatre history this week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 27–August 2, 2020: Little Shop of Horrors begins Off-Broadway, Elaine Stritch joins A Little Night Music, and Avenue Q opens on Broadway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 20–26, 2020: A Chorus Line moves to Broadway, an all-Black revival of Guys & Dolls opens, and Moulin Rouge and Head Over Heels both celebrate their opening nights.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 13–19, 2020: [Title of Show] premieres on Broadway, and Dogfight makes its Off-Broadway debut this week in theatre history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 6–12, 2020: Two campy musicals based on two very different movies opened this week: Xanadu and Silence! The Musical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 29–July 5, 2020: The Alvin Theatre gets a new name, Marvin’s Room debuts on Broadway, and God is a steam bath attendant played by Hector Elizondo in Off-Broadway’s Steam Bath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 22–28, 2020: Carmen Jones and Dreamgirls both return to New York, plus the IMperial Theatre gets an onstage pool for Wish You Were Here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 15-21, 2020: Pulitzer Prize winners Fairview and A Strange Loop premiere, and more in theatre history this week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 8–14, 2020: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark finally opens on Broadway; The Odd Couple gets a revised production; Broadway discovers Shangri-La for however briefly; and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 1–7, 2020: Bob Fosse, Gwen Verdon, and Chita Rivera gave ‘em the old razzle dazzle when Chicago debuted on Broadway in 1975. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 31, 2020: The Boys came to town in 2018, when The Boys in the Band made its long-awaited Broadway debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 30, 2020: Happy birthday to Tony winner Idina Menzel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 29, 2020: Bob Fosse played the part he had always coveted when he starred in the title role of Pal Joey at City Center in 1963. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 28, 2020: Broadway had Magic to do when Stephen Schartz contributed the score to The Magic Show, starring Doug Henning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 27, 2020: After regional productions, I Am My Own Wife made its Off-Broadway debut in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 26, 2020: Carol Burnett came to Broadway in her second musical, Fade Out - Fade In, which has one of the best scores you’ve probably never heard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 25, 2020: Happy birthday to Ian McKellan and Leslie Uggams! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 24, 2020: It’s Today! Mame, starring Angela Lansbury, opened in 1966. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 23, 2020: Hadestown began its road to Tony Awards glory when it opened Off-Broadway in 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 22, 2020: Laurence Olivier, whose name became synonymous with the British theatre, was born in 1907. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 21, 2020: Light the lights, because Gypsy made its Broadway debut in 1959! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 20, 2020: Forever Plaid materialized Off-Broadway in 1990. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 19, 2020: Bravo Giovanni, about a restaurateur’s inventive efforts to beat his competition, opened in 1962. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 18, 2020: Broadway said goodbye (for a very short time) to Les Miserables in 2003 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 17, 2020: Godspell took it “Day by Day” Off-Broadway in 1971 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 16, 2020: Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition—Ethel Merman opened in Annie Get Your Gun today in 1946. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 15, 2020: Vivien Leigh became an overnight sensation with the West End opening of The Mask of Virtue in 1935. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 14, 2020: Gwen Verdon and Thelma Ritter opened in New Girl in Town, the 1957 musical adaptation of Anna Christie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 13, 2020: Steam heat came to Broadway when The Pajama Game opened in 1954. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 12, 2020: And Eve was weak when Carrie opened on Broadway—and closed five performances later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 11, 2020: Liza Minnelli made her Broadway debut in 1965. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 10, 2020: Tarzan swung onto Broadway in 2006. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 9, 2020: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier bring Romeo and Juliet to life, and Passion comes to Broadway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 8, 2020: The Battle Burtons—Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton—reunited for Broadway in Private Lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 7, 2020: Gwen Verdon stopped the show in Can-Can in 1953, and more in today’s history! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 6, 2020: Happy birthday to Adrienne Warren, and Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Dennehy bring Long Day’s Journey Into Night back to Broadway today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 5, 2020: Whatever Lola wants she gets—including a smash hit Broadway run in Damn Yankees, which opened today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 4, 2020: Millennium was approaching in 1993, and Christina Applegate danced her way to a Tony nomination in Sweet Charity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 3, 2020: Kiss of the Spider Woman opened on Broadway, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices