Today in 2005, Spamalot opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 1575 performances. Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy 'lovingly ripped off from' the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre. Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python team, wrote the musical's book and lyrics and collaborated with John Du Prez on most of the music. The original 2005 Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, won three Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004-2005 season and received 14 Tony Award nominations.

Today in 1969, 1776 opened at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rogers Theatre), where it ran for 1217 performances. 1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It focuses on, and partly fictionalizes, the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote for American independence and to sign the document. The production was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three, including the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical was made into a film of the same name in 1972 and was revived on Broadway in 1997.

Today in 1987, Starlight Express opened at the Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 761 performances. Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Richard Stilgoe (lyrics) and Arlene Phillips (choreography), with later revisions by Don Black (lyrics) and David Yazbek (music and lyrics for the 2nd US tour). The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates.

Today in 2002, Sweet Smell of Success opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre), where it ran for 109 performances. Created by Marvin Hamlisch (music), Craig Carnelia (lyrics), and John Guare (book), the show is based on the 1957 movie of the same name. It tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist named J. J. Hunsecker (based on famed New York columnist Walter Winchell) who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate. The show starred John Lithgow as J.J. Hunsecker, and Brian d'Arcy James as Sidney Falcone.

Today in 1987, Les Miserables opened at the Broadway Theatre, where it ran for 6680 performances. Written by Claude-Michel Schonberg, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables is set in early 19th-century France. The plot follows the stories of many characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. An ensemble that includes prostitutes, student revolutionaries, factory workers, and others joins the lead characters. In January 2010, it played its ten-thousandth performance in London, at Queen's Theatre in London's West End. On 3 October 2010, the show celebrated its 25th anniversary with three productions running in the same city: the original show at London's West End; the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary touring production at the original home of the show, the Barbican Centre; and the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary concert at London's O2 Arena. The original Broadway cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, David Bryant as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Frances Ruffelle as Eponine, Braden Danner as Gavroche, Donna Vivino as Young Cosette, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thenardier, Leo Burmester as Thenardier, Randy Graff as Fantine, and Terrence Mann as Javert.

Today in 1947, Brigadoon opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre, where it ran for 581 performances. Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. Brigadoon then received a West End production opening in 1949 that ran for 685 performances, and many revivals followed. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

Today in 2001, A Class Act opened at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 105 performances. A Class Act is a musical with a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price and music and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The musical is based on the life of composer-lyricist Ed Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987. The musical uses flashbacks and the device of time running backwards to retrace the high and low points of Kleban's personal and professional life.

Today in 1975, The Rocky Horror Show opened at the Belasco Theatre, where it ran for 45 performances. The Rocky Horror Show was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist unveiling his new creation, a muscle man named Rocky Horror. The musical was adapted into the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which today has a worldwide cult following and has the longest running release in film history.

Today in 2008, In the Heights opened at the Richard Rogers Theatre, where it ran for 1184 performances. In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights. The Broadway production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), and Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman). It was also a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Happy Birthday, Cyd Charisse! Charisse began starring in films in the 1940s. Her roles usually focused on her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954) and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1992 made her Broadway debut.

Happy Birthday, Donna Murphy! Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens. She received three more Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in Wonderful Town as Ruth Sherwood, LoveMusik as Lotte Lenya and The People in the Picture as Raisel/Bubbie. She is known, most recently, for her role as Mother Gothel in the animated Disney film Tangled (2010), Anij, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love interest, in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and her numerous stage roles in musical theatre.

Happy Birthday, Stephen Schwartz! In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003). He has also contributed lyrics for a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998; music and lyrics) and Enchanted (2007). Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards.

Happy Birthday, Elaine Paige! Paige was selected to play Eva Peron in the first production of Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. She went on to originate the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with 'Memory', a song from the show. She then appeared in the original stage production of Chess, followed by a starring role in Anything Goes which she also co-produced. Paige made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard in 1996, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond, to critical acclaim. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. Most recently, she starred in Follies on Broadway.

Today in 1999, Annie Get Your Gun opened at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 1045 performances.Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860-1926), who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler. Songs that became hits include 'There's No Business Like Show Business', 'Doin' What Comes Natur'lly', 'You Can't Get a Man with a Gun', 'They Say It's Wonderful', and 'Anything You Can Do.'

Today in 2005, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels openend at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 627 performances.Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane; it is based on the 1988 film of the same name. The director was Jack O'Brien, choreographer was Jerry Mitchell, scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg carves, and lighting design was by Kenneth Posner. The cast included John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, and Sherie Rene Scott, with Joanna Gleason and Gregory Jbara.

Today in 1995, Smokey Joe's Cafe opened at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson Theatre) where it ran for 2036 performances. Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Original Broadway cast recording, Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller won a Grammy award in 1996. In revue format with no unifying theme the 39 songs are presented by various members of the cast in various combinations, with no dialogue. There are novelty songs ('Charlie Brown'), romantic ballads ('Spanish Harlem') and infectious melodies ('There Goes My Baby').

Today in 2009, Guys and Dolls opened at the Nederlander Theatre, where it ran for 121 performances. Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on 'The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown' and 'Blood Pressure', two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably 'Pick the Winner'. Premiering on Broadway in 1950, the original production ran for 1200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway revivals as well as West End productions.

In celebration of this day, we bring 'Move On' from Sunday in the Park with George below!

Happy Birthday, Debra Monk! The Tony Award winner made her Broadway debut in PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES in 1982. Her Broadway credits include PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES, PRELUDE TO A KISS, NICK & NORA, REDWOOD CURTAIN, PICNIC, COMPANY, CHICAGO, STEAL PIER, AH, WILDERNESS!, THOU SHALT NOT, RECKLESS, CHILDREN AND ART, and CURTAINS. Monk won the Tony Award in 1993 for REDWOOD CURTAIN and was nominated for Tony Awards in 1997 and 2007 for both STEEL PIER and CURTAINS.

Today in 2004, Fiddler on the Roof opened at the Minskoff Theatre, where it ran for 781 performances. Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Milkman and Other Tales) by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and Jewish religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances.

Today in 1973, A Little Night Music opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 601 performances. A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Since its original 1973 Broadway production, the musical has enjoyed professional productions in the West End, by opera companies, in a 2009 Broadway revival, and elsewhere, and it is a popular choice for regional groups. It was adapted for film in 1977, with Harold Prince directing and Elizabeth Taylor, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down and Diana Rigg starring.

Today in 1955, Silk Stockings opened at the Imperial Theatre, where it ran for 478 performances. Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The musical is loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel story Ninotchka and the 1939 film adaptation it inspired. It ran on Broadway in 1955. This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.

Today in 2006, The Pajama Game opened at the America Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances.

Happy Birthday, Lea Salonga! Salonga is best known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards. She was the first Asian to play the roles of Eponine and Fantine in the musical Les Miserables on Broadway. She also provided the singing voice of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), and Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998).

Today in 2008, the first Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George opened at Studio 54, where it ran for 149 performances. Sunday in the Park with George is a 1983 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' by Georges Seurat. The musical won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, two Tony Awards for design (and a nomination for Best Musical), numerous Drama Desk Awards, the 1991 Olivier Award for Best Musical and the 2007 Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production.