Musicals 101 Historic Calendar
August
Compiled by John Kenrick
(Revised 2011)
August 1
- Vaudeville star Eva Tanguay born (1878)
- Librettist Michael Stewart born (1929)
- Director/choreographer/actor/dancer Geoffrey Holder born (1930)
- Composer/lyricist Lionel Bart born (1930)
- Actor/comedian Dom DeLuise born (1933)
- I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change opened Off-Broadway (1996)
August 2
- Actress/singer Helen Morgan born (1900)
- Actor/singer Anthony Crivello born (1955)
- Burn the Floor opened on Broadway (2009)
August 3
- Actor/singer Nathaniel Frey born (1918)
- Actress/singer/dancer Maria Karnilova born (1920)
- Composer Richard Adler born (1921)
- Revival of Stop the World starring Sammy Davis Jr. opened on Broadway (1978)
August 4
- Jazz legend Louis Armstrong born (1901)
- Actress/singer Helen Kane ("Betty Boop") born (1903)
- Revival of The Merry Widow opened on Broadway (1943)
- Revival of Pal Joey opened in London (1980)
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood opened in NY's Central Park (1985)
August 5
- Sigmund Romberg's The Blue Paradise opened (1915)
- Actress/singer Faith Prince born (1957)
August 6
- Conductor Franz Allers born (1905)
- Actress Lucille Ball born (1910)
- Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1928 opened on Broadway (1928)
August 7
- Actress Billie Burke born (1885)
- Actor's Equity calls its historic first strike (1919)
- Carol Channing leaves original cast of Hello Dolly! (1965)
- Honky Tonk Nights opened on Broadway (1986)
August 8
- Director/lyricist Gene Buck born (1885)
- Actress/singer/producer Rosetta LeNoire born (1911)
- Actress/singer Anne Francine born (1917)
- Actress/swimmer Esther Williams born (1921)
- Actress/singer Marcia Lewis born (1938)
- Revival of Shenandoah opened on Broadway (1989)
August 9
- British actor Edmund Hockridge born (1923)
- Webber & Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar opened in London (1972)
August 10
- Actor/singer Jack Haley born (1899)
- Actor/singer Antonio Banderas born (1960)
- Me and My Girl opened on Broadway (1986)
August 11
- Actor/producer Joseph Weber born (1867)
- Songwriter John Rosamund Johnson born (1873)
- Actress Helen Broderick born (1891)
- Composer Hugh Martin born (1914)
August 12
- Director/choreographer/dancer/actor Michael Kidd born (1919)
- Charlotte Sweet opened Off-Broadway (1982)
August 13
- Actor/singer Bert Lahr born (1914)
- Actress/singer Alma Cuervo born (1951)
August 14
- Actor/comedian Robert Woolsey born (1888)
- Lyricist Lee Adams born (1924)
- Actress/singer Alice Ghostley born (1926)
- Actress/singer Sarah Brightman born (1961)
- Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence married (1963)
- Revue When Pigs Fly opened Off-Broadway (1996)
- Roundabout revival of 1776 opened on Broadway (1997)
- Lennon opened on Broadway (2005)
August 15
- Producer/theatre owner Jacob Shubert born (1878)
- Hollywood lyricist Ned Washington born (1901)
- Actor Jim Dale born (1935)
- Actress/singer Jill Haworth born (1945)
- Actor/singer/dancer Michael Berresse born (1964)
- Revival of Ain't Misbehavin' opened on Broadway (1988)
- Hairspray opened on Broadway (2002)
- Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway opened (2006)
August 16
- Composer Karl Hoschna born (1877)
Sigmund Romberg's Maytime opened on Broadway (1917) - Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 opened on Broadway (1927)
- Actress/singer Anita Gilette born (1936)
- Actress Carol Shelley born (1939)
- Actor/singer Paul Hecht born (1941)
- Actress/singer/dancer Lesley Ann Warren born (1946)
- Actress/singer Dee Hoty born (1952)
- Dracula the Musical opened on Broadway (2004)
August 17
- MGM's film musical The Wizard of Oz premiered in New York City (1939)
- Lyricist Ira Gershwin dies at age 87 (1983)
- Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me opened on Broadway (2006)
August 18
- Lyricist/librettist Otto Harbach born (1873)
- Camelot starring Laurence Harvey opened in London (1964)
- Revival of My Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison opened on Broadway (1981)
- The Donkey Show opened Off-Broadway (1999)
- Revival of Boys From Syracuse opened on Broadway (2002)
August 19
- Actor Fred Stone born (1873)
- Irving Berlin's Yip Yip Yaphank opened on Broadway (1918)
- Actor/singer Peter Gallagher born (1956)
- Camelot opened in London (1964)
- Grease revived (2nd time) on Broadway (2007)
August 20
- The Mikado opened on Broadway (1885)
- Singer/actress Julia Sanderson born (1887)
- Artists and Models of 1923 opened on Broadway (1923)
- Simply Heavenly opened on Broadway (1957)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opened in London (1962)
August 21
- Lyricist Carolyn Leigh born (1926)
- Song of Norway opened on Broadway (1944)
- Jerry Herman's La Cage Aux Folles opened on Broadway (1983)
- Strouse & Schwartz's Rags opened on Broadway (1986)
August 22
- Producer Daniel Frohman born (1851)
- Costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge born (1932)
August 23
- Actor/dancer/singer/director/choreographer Gene Kelly born (1912)
- George Burns and Gracie Allen's vaudeville act debuts at NY's Palace Theatre (1926)
- Oscar Hammerstein II dies of stomach cancer (1960)
August 24
- Jerome Kern's The Girl From Utah opened on Broadway (1914
- Big Boy starring Al Jolson opened on Broadway (1925)
- Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1926 opened (1926)
August 25
- Actress/dancer Ruby Keeler born (1909)
- Actor/singer Van Johnson born (1916)
- Composer Leonard Bernstein born (1918)
- Gower Champion died the same day that his hit 42nd Street opened on Broadway (1981)
August 26
- Actress/singer Jan Clayton born (1917)
- Actor/singer Michael Jeter born (1952)
- Musical version of Anna Karenina opened on Broadway (1992)
August 27
- Producer/theatre owner Sam S. Shubert born (1878)
- Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1931 opened on Broadway (1931)
- Revue Life Begins at 8:40 starring Ray Bolger opened on Broadway (1934)
August 28
- Actor Sam Levene born (1905)
- Jerome Kern's Leave It to Jane opened on Broadway (1917)
- George White's Scandals of 1922 opened on Broadway (1922)
- George White's Scandals of 1939 opened on Broadway (1939)
August 29
- Sally in Our Alley opened on Broadway (1902)
- Our Miss Gibbs opened on Broadway (1910)
August 30
- Actress/singer Fritzi Scheff born (1879)
- Actress Shirley Booth born (1898 or 1907?)
- Madame Sherry opened on Broadway (1910)
- Actor/singer/dancer Donald O'Connor born (1925)
August 31
- The Girl from Brighton opened on Broadway (1912)
- Lyricist/librettist/author Alan Jay Lerner born (1918)
- The Sweetheart Shop opened on Broadway (1920)
- Actress/singer Deborah Gibson born (1970)