Calendar: December
Compiled by John Kenrick
(Revised 20012)
December 1
- British composer/conductor Alfred Cellier born (1844)
- Actor/singer Cyril Ritchard born (1897)
- Actress/singer Mary Martin born (1913)
- George & Ira Gershwin's Lady Be Good opened on Broadway (1924)
- Actor/singer Keith Michell born (1926)
- Actress/singer Bette Midler born (1945)
- Leonard Bernstein's Candide opened on Broadway (1954)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song opened on Broadway (1958)
- Bacharach & David's Promises, Promises opened on Broadway (1968)
- MacDermot's Two Gentlemen of Verona moved to Broadway (1971)
- The Color Purple opened on Broadway (2005)
December 2
- Actor/singer William Gaxton born (1893)
- Friml's The Firefly opened on Broadway (1912)
- Lyricist/librettist Adolph Green born (1915)
- Romberg's The Student Prince in Heidelberg opened on Broadway (1923)
- Oscar Hammerstein II's Carmen Jones opened on Broadway (1943)
- Hello Dolly! starring Mary Martin opened in London (1965)
- Buck White starring Muhammad Ali opened on Broadway (1969)
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood moved to Broadway (1985)
- Marie Christine opened on Broadway (1999)
December 3
- The Beggar's Opera becomes the first musical professionally performed in Manhattan (1750)
- Forrest & Wright's Kismet starring Alfred Drake opened on Broadway (1953)
- Lerner & Loewe's Camelot starring Julie Andrews opened on Broadway (1960)
- Liza's at the Palace opened on Broadway (2008)
December 4
- Actress/singer Lillian Russell born (1861)
- British producer Harold Fielding born (1916)
- Actress/singer Deanna Durbin born (1921)
- Whoopee starring Eddie Cantor opened on Broadway (1928)
- Maltby & Shire's Baby opened on Broadway (1983)
- Never Gonna Dance opens on Broadway (2003)
December 5
- William Wheatley, producer of The Black Crook, born (1816)
- Viennese operetta star Alexander Girardi born (1850)
- Producer/animator Walt Disney born (1901)
- Singer/actress Grace Moore born (1901)
- If The Shoe Fits opened on Broadway (1946)
- I Do, I Do starring Robert Preston and Mary Martin opened on Broadway (1966)
- Man of La Mancha revived on Broadway (4th time) starring Brian Stokes Mitchell (2002)
December 6
- Lyricist Ira Gershwin born (1896)
- Cole Porter's DuBarry Was A Lady starring Ethel Merman & Bert Lahr opened on Broadway (1939)
- Happy Hunting starring Ethel Merman opened on Broadway (1956)
December 7
- British actress/singer Violet Cameron born (1862)
- Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers opened in London (1889)
- Ziegfeld's Mam'selle Napoleon starring Anna Held opened on Broadway (1903)
- Walk a Little Faster starring Bea Lillie opened on Broadway (1932)
- The Seven Lively Arts opened on Broadway (1944)
- Librettist Mark Bramble born (1950)
- Harold Arlen's Saratoga starring Keel & Lawrence opened on Broadway (1959)
- How Now Dow Jones opened on Broadway (1967)
December 8
- Composer Rudolph Friml born (1879)
- Actor/singer/dancer Sammy Davis, Jr. born (1925)
- Jule Styne's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opened on Broadway (1949)
- Noel Coward's The Girl Who Came To Supper opened on Broadway (1963)
- Nick and Nora opened on Broadway (1991)
- Baz Luhrmann's production of La Boheme opened on Broadway (2002)
December 9
- Actor/singer George Grossmith born (1847)
- Lyricist/librettist Edgar Smith born (1857)
- Revival of The Pajama Game opened on Broadway (1973)
- Revival of My Fair Lady starring Richard Chamberlain opened on Broadway (1993)
- Swing opened on Broadway (1999)
- Dance of the Vampires starring Michael Crawford opened on Broadway (2002)
December 10
- Offenbach's Les Brigands premieres in Paris (1869)
- Lyricist Lew Brown born (1893)
- John Murray Anderson's Almanac opened on Broadway (1953)
- The Yearling opened on Broadway (1965)
- Flaherty & Ahrens's My Favorite Year opened on Broadway (1992)
- Jane Eyre opened on Broadway (2000)
- Spring Awakening opened on Broadway (2006)
December 11
- Librettist Joe Masteroff born (1919)
- Actress/singer/dancer Rita Moreno born (1931)
- Actress/singer Judy Kaye born (1948)
- Cy Coleman & David Zippel's City of Angels opened on Broadway (1989)
- Chita Rivera: A Life opened on Broadway (2005)
December 12
- Actor/singer Frank Sinatra born (1915)
- West Side Story opened in London (1958)
- Nunsense opened off-Broadway (1985)
December 13
- Revival of Oklahoma opened on Broadway (1979)
- Revival of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby opened on Broadway (1990)
- A Little Night Music revived (1st time) on Broadway (2009)
December 14
- British director Edward Royce born (1870)
- Actor/singer/dancer Dan Dailey born (1914)
- La Strada opened and closed on Broadway (1969)
- Michael Bennett's Ballroom starring Dorothy Loudon opened on Broadway (1978)
- Onward Victoria opened & closed on Broadway (1980)
- Revival of The Apple Tree opened on Broadway (2006)
- Shrek opened on Broadway (2008)
December 15
- Two's Company starring Bette Davis opened on Broadway (1952)
- I Had A Ball starring Buddy Hackett opened on Broadway (1964)
- Charlie Girl opened in London (1965)
- A Joyful Noise starring John Raitt on Broadway (1966)
- Mary Poppins opened in London (2004)
December 16
- Composer Lew Henderson born (1896)
- Composer/lyricist/playwright/actor/singer/director Noel Coward born (1899)
- Lend An Ear opened on Broadway (1948)
- Wildcat starring Lucille Ball opened on Broadway (1960)
- Jule Styne's short-lived The Red Shoes opened on Broadway (1993)
December 17
- Offenbach's La Belle Helene premieres in Paris (1864)
- Producer/librettist Laurence Schwab born (1893)
- Actor/singer/director Tommy Steele born (1936)
- Actress/singer Susan Watson born (1938)
- Parade opened on Broadway (1998)
December 18
- British composer Lionel Monckton born (1891)
- Librettist/director Abe Burrows born (1910)
- Actress/singer/dancer Betty Grable born (1916)
- Composer Galt MacDermot born (1928)
- Coco starring Katherine Hepburn opened on Broadway (1969)
- Herman's Jerry's Girls opened on Broadway (1985)
- Sondheim's Assassins opened in an Off-Broadway workshop (1990)
- Pal Joey revived (3rd time) on Broadway (2008)
December 19
- Composer/lyricist Robert B. Sherman born (1925)
- Meredith Willson's The Music Man starring Robert Preston & Barbara Cook opened on Broadway (1957)
- Revival of Where's Charley starring Raul Julia opened on Broadway (1974)
- Wind in the Willows opened on Broadway (1985)
- Revival of Once Upon a Mattress opened on Broadway (1996)
December 20
- Actress/singer Bertha Belmore born (1882)
- Actress/singer Irene Dunne born (1901)
- Actor/singer Dennis Morgan born (1908)
- Dames at Sea opened off-Broadway (1968)
- George Abbott's production of Music Is opened on Broadway (1976)
- Comin' Uptown opened on Broadway (1979)
- Michael Bennett's production of Dreamgirls opened on Broadway (1981)
December 21
- Ziegfeld's production of Sally starring Marilyn Miller opened on Broadway (1920)
- Actor/dancer Harold Lang born (1923)
- Jerome Robbins's production of Billion Dollar Baby opened on Broadway (1945)
- Cole Porter's Out of This World opened on Broadway (1950)
- Revival of Very Good Eddie opened on Broadway (1975)
- A Broadway Musical opened on Broadway (1978)
- The Tap Dance Kid opened on Broadway (1983)
December 22
- Whoop-Up opened on Broadway (1958)
- Your Arms Too Short to Box With God opened on Broadway (1976)
December 23
- Librettist Adrian Ross born (1859)
- Jerome Kern's Very Good Eddie opened on Broadway (1915)
- Dancer Buzz Miller born (1923)
- Actor/singer Harry Guardino born (1925)
- Revival of Good News starring Alice Faye opened on Broadway (1974)
December 24
- Film director Michael Curtiz born (1888)
- Composer Harry Warren born (1893)
- Dancer/choreographer/actress Carol Haney born (1924)
December 25
- Actress/singer Fay Templeton born (1865)
- Performer Evelyn Nesbit born (1885)
- Victor Herbert's Mlle. Modiste opened on Broadway (1905)
- Actor/singer/musician Cab Calloway born (1907)
- Actor/singer Tony Martin born (1912)
- Going Up opened on Broadway (1915)
- George White's Scandals of 1935 opened on Broadway (1935)
- Rodgers & Hart's Pal Joey starring Gene Kelly opened on Broadway (1940)
December 26
- The Gershwins' Of Thee I Sing starring Gaxton & Moore opened on Broadway (1931)
- Beggar's Holiday opened on Broadway (1946)
- Do, Re, Mi starring Phil Silvers & Nancy Walker opened on Broadway (1960)
- Actor/singer Jack Noseworthy born (1969)
- Legs Diamond starring Peter Allen opened on Broadway (1988)
December 27
- Actress/singer Marlene Dietrich born (1901)
- Actor/musician Oscar Levant born (1906)
- Lyricist Sheldon Harnick born (1924)
- Kern & Hammerstein's Show Boat opened on Broadway (1927)
- Actor/dancer Tommy Rall born (1929)
- Sing Out Sweet Land opened on Broadway (1944)
- Jule Styne's Subways Are For Sleeping opened on Broadway (1961)
December 28
- Lyricist/librettist Harry B. Smith born (1860)
- Bernstein's On The Town opened on Broadway (1944)
- How To Be A Jewish Mother opened on Broadway (1967)
- Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentleman opened on Broadway (1970)
- Revival (1st) of Fiddler On The Roof starring Zero Mostel opened on Broadway (1976)
December 30
- Chicago's Iroquois Theatre destroyed by fire, killing over 600 (1903)
- Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate starring Drake & Morison opened on Broadway (1948)
- Harold Arlen's House of Flowers opened on Broadway (1954)
December 31
- Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance premieres in New York (1879)
- Composer/producer Jule Styne born (1905)