Today in 1991, Miss Saigon opened at the Broadway Theatre, where it ran for 4092 performances. Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The musical premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London on 20 September 1989, closing after over four thousand performances, on 30 October 1999.The musical represented Schonberg and Boublil's second major success, following Les Miserables in 1985.

Today in 2003, the first Broadway revival of Nine opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it ran for 283 performances. Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit, music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The story is based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½. It focuses on film director Guido Contini, who is dreading his imminent 40th birthday and is facing a midlife crisis, which is blocking his creative impulses and entangling him in a web of romantic difficulties in early-1960s Venice. The original Broadway production opened in 1982 and ran for 729 performances, starring Raul Julia. The musical won five Tony Awards, including best musical, and has enjoyed a number of revivals.

Today in 1957, Brigadoon opened at the Adelphi Theatre, where it ran for 47 performances. Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as 'Almost Like Being in Love' have become standards. The story involves two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years. Tommy, one of the tourists, falls in love with Fiona, a young woman from Brigadoon. The original production opened on Broadway in 1947 and ran for 581 performances. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

Today in 1990, Aspects of Love opened at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 377 performances. Aspects of Love is a musical with a book and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. Based on the novella of the same name by David Garnett, the piece focuses on the romantic entanglements of actress Rose Vibert, her admiring fan Alex Dillingham, his underage cousin Jenny, his uncle George, and George's mistress, sculptress Giulietta Trapani, over a period of 17 years.

Today in 2011, the third Broadway revival of Anything Goes opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, where it ran for 521 performences. Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. The musical introduced such songs as 'Anything Goes', 'You're the Top', and 'I Get a Kick Out of You.'

Today in 1964, The Crucible opened at the Belasco Theatre, where it ran for 16 performances. The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. It was first performed at the Martin Beck Theater on Broadway on January 22, 1953. The production won the 1953 'Best Play' Tony Award. It is a central work in the canon of American drama.

Today in 2007, The Pirate Queen opened at the Hilton Theatre (now the FoxwoodsTheatre), where it ran for 85 performances. The Pirate Queen is a musical written by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, best known for their adaptation of Les Miserables. It is based on the life and adventures of the 16th century Irish chieftain and pirate Grainne O'Malley, who was one of the last Irish clan leaders to resist the English conquest of Gaelic Ireland. The cast featured Stephanie J. Block as the title character and Linda Balgord, who was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I.

Today in 1971, Follies opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 522 performances. Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the 'Weismann's Follies,' a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies), that played in that theatre between the World Wars. The musical was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won seven. The piece has enjoyed a number of major revivals, and several of its songs have become standards, including 'Broadway Baby', 'I'm Still Here', 'Too Many Mornings', 'Could I Leave You?', and 'Losing My Mind'.

Today in 2008, the first Broadway revival of South Pacific opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, where it ran for 996 performances. South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The musical centers on an American nurse stationed at a U.S. Naval base during World War II who falls in love with an expatriate French plantation owner but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. A second romance concerns a U.S. Lieutenant who falls in love with a young Asian woman. The musical premiered in 1949 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950.

Today in 1992, Hamlet opened at Criterion Center Stage Right, where it ran for 45 performances. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts on his uncle Claudius for murdering King Hamlet, Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and taking as his wife Gertrude, the old king's widow and Prince Hamlet's mother. The play vividly portrays both true and feigned madness - from overwhelming grief to seething rage - and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Happy Birthday Debbie Reynolds! Reynolds regularly appeared in movie musicals during the 1950s and had several hit records during the period. Perhaps her most high-profile film role was in Singin' in the Rain (1952) as Kathy Selden. On Broadway, Reynolds has starred in such shows as Irene, Debbie, and Woman of the Year. Reynolds appeared in her West End show Debbie Reynolds: Alive and Fabulous

Today in 2009, the second Broadway revival of HAIR opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where it ran for 519 performances. Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement. Hair tells the story of the 'tribe', a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the 'Age of Aquarius' living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War.

Today in 2000, Contact opened at the Vivien Beaumont Theatre, where it ran for 1010 performances.Contact: The Musical is a musical 'dance play' (some deemed it a ballet) that was developed by Susan Stroman and John Weidman, with its 'book' by Weidman and both choreography and direction by Stroman. It consists of three separate one-act dance plays. The show was received with much critical acclaim and won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical. A West End production opened at the Queen's Theatre in October 2002, and closed on May 10, 2003.

Today in 1951, The King and I opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1246 performances. The King and I is the fifth musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The story deals with the experiences of the British schoolteacher, who is hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is marked by conflict through much of the play, as well as by a love that neither is able to express.

Happy Birthday Reba McEntire! Sometimes referred to as 'The Queen of Country', McEntire has sold 41 million records in the United States and more than 60 million worldwide. In the United States, she ranks as the seventh best-selling female artist in all genres and is the second best-selling female country artist of all time. On stage, McEntire has appeared as Annie Oakley in the 2001 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun followed by the Carnegie Hall concert of South Pacific.

Today in 2008, the fourth Broadway revival of Gypsy opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 332 performances. Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. It follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage and casts an affectionate eye on the hardships of show business life. The musical contains many songs that became popular standards, including 'Small World,' 'Everything's Coming up Roses', 'Some People', 'Let Me Entertain You', and 'Rose's Turn'.

Today in 1997, Annie opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 239 performances. Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). It spawned numerous productions in many countries, as well as national tours, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical's songs 'Tomorrow' and 'It's the Hard-Knock Life' are among its most popular musical numbers.

Today in 1976, the first Broadway revival of My Fair Lady opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 377 performances. My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well born lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals.

Today in 2005, All Shook Up opened at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 213 performances.All Shook Up is a jukebox musical with Elvis Presley music, with a book by Joe DiPietro. The story is based on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Directed by Christopher Ashley, with choreography by Ken Roberson, the original Broadway cast included Cheyenne Jackson (Chad), Jenn Gambatese (Natalie Haller/'Ed'), and Jonathan Hadary (Jim Haller).

Today in 2000, Aida opened at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 1852 performances. Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang. Aida was nominated for five Tony Awards and won four Tony Awards in 2000, including Best Musical Score and Best Performance by a Leading Actress. Aida was also named by Time Magazine in 2000 as one of the top ten theatre productions of the year. The First National tour was nominated for nine National Broadway Theatre awards (now 'Touring Broadway Awards') and won five awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

Sondheim is the winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards, including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award. Described by Frank Rich of the New York Times as 'the greatest, and perhaps best-known artist working in musical theatre', his most famous scores include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins. He also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy. Lloyd Webber has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He has also gained a number of honours, including a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from the British Government for services to Music, seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, fourteen Ivor Novello Awards, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006. Several of his songs, notably 'The Music of the Night', 'I Don't Know How to Love Him', 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina' and 'You Must Love Me', 'Any Dream Will Do' and 'Memory' have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals.

Today in 2002, Oklahoma! opened at the Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 388 performances. Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. The 2002 revival featured Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, Shuler Hensley as Jud, Patrick Wilson as Curly and Andrea Martin as Aunt Eller.

Today in 2011, Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened at the Palace Theatre, wehre it is still running (currently 415 performances). Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a musical with a book by Australian film director-writer Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, using well-known pop songs as its score. Adapted from Elliott's 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical tells the story of two drag queens and a transsexual, who contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. The original Broadway cast includes Will Swenson as Tick (Mitzi), Tony Sheldon, again, reprising his role of Bernadette, and Nick Adams as Adam (Felicia).

Today in 1998, the second Broadway revival of Caberat opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (then called the KIt Kat Klub), where it ran for 2377 performances. Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions. Set in 1931 Berlin as the Nazis are rising to power, it focuses on nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub and revolves around the 19-year-old English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and her relationship with the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Overseeing the action is the Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub which serves as a constant metaphor for the tenuous and threatening state of late Weimar Germany throughout the show.

Happy Birthday, Sutton Foster! Foster's portrayal of Reno Sweeney in Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Anythng Goes earned her the 2011 Tony Award Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Sutton also starred on Broadwayas Princess Fiona in Shrek: The Musical, for which she was honored with Tony and Drama Desk nominations, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. Prior to that, Sutton was Inga in the Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein, Janet Van De Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, LA Ovation Award) and Jo March in Little Women: The Musical (2005 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations). She is the recipient of the 2002 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Astaire Awards for her performance as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, a role she created in the 2000 La Jolla Playhouse premiere.