Musicals 101 Historic Calendar
March
Compiled by John Kenrick
(Revised 2011)
March 1
- Vienna operetta star Louis Treumann born (1872)
- Actor/singer Harry Belafonte born (1924)
- Set/costume designer John Napier born (1944)
- Actor/singer Bryan Batt born (1963)
- Timbuktu opened on Broadway (1978)
- Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway (1979)
- Guys and Dolls revived (3rd time) on Broadway (2009)
March 2
- British singer/actor (original Mikado) Richard Temple born (1847)
- Composer Kurt Weill born (1900)
- Composer/lyricist/librettist Marc Blitzstein born (1905)
- Actor/singer John Cullum born (1930)
- Thirteen Daughters opened on Broadway (1961)
- Bubbling Brown Sugar opened on Broadway (1976)
- Smokey Joe's Cafe opened (1995)
- The Pajama Game revived (2nd time) on Broadway (2006)
March 3
- Choreographer Hanya Holm born (1893)
- Flying High opened on Broadway (1930)
- Here's Where I Belong opened on Broadway (1968)
- Goodtime Charley starring Joel Grey & Ann Reinking opened on Broadway (1975)
- Revival of Damn Yankees opened on Broadway (1994)
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened on Broadway (2005)
March 4
- Strike Me Pink starring Jimmy Durante opened on Broadway (1933)
- The Goodbye Girl starring Bernadette Peters opened on Broadway (1993)
- Revival of Annie Get Your Gun starring Bernadette Peters opened on Broadway (1999)
March 5
- Actor/singer Rex Harrison born (1908)
- Actor/singer Jack Cassidy born (1927)
- Lyricist/librettist Alain Boublil born (1941)
- Actress/singer Elaine Paige born (1948)
- Romberg's The Girl In Pink Tights opened on Broadway (1954)
- Damn Yankees starring Gwen Verdon opened on Broadway (1955)
- Revival of Hello Dolly starring Carol Channing opened on Broadway (1978)
- Bring Back Birdie opened on Broadway (1981)
- Kander & Ebb's And The World Goes 'Round opened Off-Broadway (1991)
- Hair revived on Broadway (2009)
March 6
- Actress/singer Ella Logan born (1913)
- Composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz born (1948)
- Long running revue This Was Burlesque opened Off-Broadway (1962)
- Over Here starring The Andrews Sisters opened on Broadway (1974)
- Long-running revival of On Your Toes opened on Broadway (1983)
March 7
- Gilbert & Sullivan's The Grand Duke opened in London (1896)
- Director/librettist Morton DaCosta born (1914)
- Actor/singer Lewis J. Stadlen born (1947)
- Actress/singer Donna Murphy born (1958)
- Actress/singer Vicki Lewis born (1960)
- You're A Good Man Charlie Brown opened Off-Broadway (1967)
- Actress/singer Ruthie Henshall born (1967)
- Maltby & Shire's revue Starting Here, Starting Now opened Off-Broadway (1977)
March 8
- Actress/singer Anna Held born (1873)
- Actor/singer Darrell Fancourt born (1888)
- Dancer/actress Cyd Charisse born (1921 or 1923)
- Frank Loesser's Greenwillow opened on Broadway (1960)
March 9
- Actor/singer/vaudevillian Eddie Foy Sr. born (1854)
- Composer Howard Talbot born (1865)
- Composer/lyricist Jerry Ross born (1926)
- Actor/singer Raul Julia born (1940)
- Actor/singer/director Lonny Price born (1959)
- Juno starring Shirley Booth opened on Broadway (1959)
- In the S opened on Broadway (2007)
March 10
- Humpty Dumpty starring George L. Fox opened on Broadway (1868)
- No, No Nanette opened in London (1925)
- Revival of Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway (1953)
- Long-running revival of The Threepenny Opera opened Off-Broadway (1954)
- Long-running revival of Candide moved to Broadway (1974)
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened on Broadway (1975)
March 11
- British actress/singer Jessie Matthews born (1907)
- The Golden Apple opened on Broadway (1954)
- Actor/singer Stephen Bogardus born (1954)
- Actor/singer John Barrowman born (1968)
- A Class Act opened on Broadway (2001)
- Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened on Broadway (2011)
March 12
- Producer/dancer George White born (1892)
- Actor/singer Gordon MacRae born (1921)
- Actress/singer Liza Minnelli born (1946)
- Les Miserables opened on Broadway (1987)
- Revival of The Sound of Music starring Rebecca Luker opened on Broadway (1998)
- Ring of Fire opened on Broadway (2006)
March 13
- Actor/singer Joseph Emmet born (1841)
- Actress/singer Tessie O'Shea born (1913)
- Friml's The Three Musketeers opened on Broadway (1928)
- Lerner & Loewe's Brigadoon opened on Broadway (1947)
- Revival of Irene starring Debbie Reynolds opened on Broadway (1973)
March 14
- Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado opened in London (1885)
- Sweet Smell of Success opened on Broadway (2002)
- The Book of Mormon opened on Broadway (2011)
March 15
- Florodora composer Leslie Stuart born (1864)
- Producer Florenz Ziegfeld born (1867)
- Actress/singer Zarah Leander born (1907)
- Actor/dancer/choreographer/director Thommie Walsh born (1950)
- Menotti's The Consul opened on Broadway (1950)
- Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady opened on Broadway (1956)
- Richard Rodgers's No Strings opened on Broadway (1962)
- Purlie opened on Broadway (1970)
- Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express opened on Broadway (1987)
March 16
- Actress/singer Elsie Janis born (1889)
- The Crinoline Girl starring Julian Eltinge opened on Broadway (1914)
- Actor/singer Victor Garber born (1949)
- The Music Man starring Van Johnson opened in London (1961)
- Revue This Was Burlesque moved to Broadway (1965)
- 1776 opened on Broadway (1969)
- Riverdance opened on Broadway (2000)
March 17
- Actress/dancer Tamara Geva born (1907)
- Rodgers & Hart's The Girl Friend opened on Broadway (1926)
- Chu Chem opened on Broadway (1989)
- Monty Python's Spamalot opened on Broadway (2005)
March 18
- Composer John Kander born (1927)
- Tovarich starring Vivien Leigh opened on Broadway (1963)
- Rodgers & Sondheim's Do I Hear a Waltz? opened on Broadway (1965)
- Come Summer starring Ray Bolger opened on Broadway (1969)
- Cy Coleman & Dorothy Fields's Seesaw opened on Broadway (1973)
March 19
- Set designer Jo Meilziner born (1901)
- Librettist Hugh Wheeler born (1912)
- Actress/singer Patricia Morrison born (1915)
- Actress/singer Phyllis Newman born (1933)
- Actress/singer Glenn Close born (1947)
- First Impressions opened on Broadway (1959)
- All American starring Ray Bolger opened on Broadway (1962)
- Doctor Jazz opened on Broadway (1975)
- Cabaret revived (2nd time) on Broadway (1998)
- West Side Story revived (2nd time) on Broadway (2009)
March 20
- La Belle Paree featuring Al Jolson (NY debut) opened on Broadway (1911)
- Sigmund Romberg's Maytime opened in London (1925)
- Actor/singer Hal Linden born (1931)
- Actor/singer Chip Zien born (1947)
- Play On opened on Broadway (1997)
- Zanna Don't opened Off Broadway (2003)
March 21
- Producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. born (1867)
- Three Wishes for Jamie starring John Raitt opened on Broadway (1952)
- Actor/singer Matthew Broderick born (1962)
- Canterbury Tales opened in London (1968)
- Revival of Little Johnny Jones starring Donny Osmond opened on Broadway (1982)
- Revival of Oklahoma! opened on Broadway (2002)
March 22
- Noel Coward's revue This Year of Grace opened in London (1928)
- Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim born (1930)
- Firebrand of Florence opened on Broadway (1945)
- Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber born (1948)
- Mr. Wonderful opened on Broadway (1956)
- I Can Get It For You Wholesale opened on Broadway (1962)
- Billy opened and closed on Broadway (1969)
- Kander & Ebb's Curtains opened on Broadway (2007)
March 23
- Actress/singer Hazel Dawn born (1891)
- Actress/singer Martha Wright born (1926)
- The Hot Mikado opened on Broadway (1939)
- The Dancing Years opened in London (1939)
- Actress/singer Melissa Errico born (1970)
- Revival of How To Succeed opened on Broadway (1995)
- Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida opened on Broadway (2000)
- Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened in London (2009)
March 24
- Lyricist Christopher Hassall born (1912)
- The Palace Theatre in New York presented its first vaudeville bill (1913)
- Actor/singer/dancer Gene Nelson born (1920)
- Choreographer Onna White born (1922)
- Actor/singer Kenneth Nelson born (1930)
- Costume designer Bob Mackie born (1940)
- Flower Drum Song opened in London (1960)
- Gospel at Colonus opened on Broadway (1988)
- Carousel revived (1st time) on Broadway (1994)
- All Shook Up opened on Broadway (2005)
March 25
- Merry Widow co-librettist Leo Stein born (1861)
- Producer/theatre owner Lee Shubert born (1871)
- Trial By Jury opened in London - Gilbert & Sullivan's first hit comic operetta (1875)
- Musical director Jay Blackton born (1909)
- Singer/actor Robert Rounseville born (1914)
- Actress/singer Sarah Jessica Parker born (1965)
- My Fair Lady revived (1st time) on Broadway (1976)
- Mama I Want To Sing opened Off-Broadway (1983)
- Come Fly With Me opened on Broadway (2010)
March 26
- Singer/actor Al Jolson born (1886?)
- Actor/singer Martin Short born (1950)
- Funny Girl starring Barbra Streisand opened on Broadway (1964)
- Minnie's Boys opened on Broadway (1970)
- Annie revived (1st time) on Broadway (1997)
March 27
- British actor/singer Joseph E. Coyne born (1867)
- Dancer Harold Nicholas born (1921)
- Bob Fosse's Dancin' opened on Broadway (1978)
- William Finn's March of the Falsettoes opened Off-Broadway (1981)
- Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? opened on Broadway (1982)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's State Fair opened on Broadway (1996)
- Urban Cowboy opened on Broadway (2003)
- Revival of Jacques Brel Is Alive opened Off-Broadway (2006)
- Gypsy revived (4th time) on Broadway starring Patti Lupone (2008)
- How to Succeed revived (3rd time) on Broadway (2011)
March 28
- Cole Porter's See America First (his NY debut) opened on Broadway (1916)
- Sherry opened on Broadway (1967)
March 29
- Theatre manager Marc Klaw born (1848)
- Actor/singer Joseph Cawthorn born (1867)
- Songwriter Albert Von Tilzer born (1878)
- Playwright/actor Howard Lindsay born (1888)
- Actor Warner Baxter born (1889)
- Singer/actress Pearl Bailey born (1918)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King & I opened on Broadway (1951)
- It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman opened on Broadway (1966)
- Look to the Lilies starring Shirley Booth opened on Broadway (1970)
- Kander & Ebb's Woman of the Year opened on Broadway (1981)
March 30
- Actor/singer DeWolf Hopper born (1858)
- Ziegfeld's dance director Ned Wayburn born (1874)
- St. Louis Woman opened on Broadway (1946)
- Applause opened on Broadway (1970)
- Forum revived (1st time ) on Broadway starring Phil Silvers (1972)
- Susan Stroman's Contact opened on Broadway (2000)
March 31
- British composer/lyricist David Henecker born (1906)
- Actor/singer Richard Kiley born (1922)
- Actor/singer Sydney Chaplin born (1926)
- Actor/singer William Daniels born (1927)
- Actress/singer Shirley Jones born (1934)
- Actor/singer Richard Chamberlain born (1935)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma opened on Broadway (1943)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Julie Andrews premiered on CBS-TV (1957)