Musicals 101's Historic Calendar
May
Compiled by John Kenrick
May 1
- British actor/singer Sonnie Hale born (1902)
- Menotti's The Medium/The Telephone opened on Broadway (1947)
- Revival of The Threepenny Opera starring Raul Julia opened on Broadway (1976)
- A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine opened on Broadway (1980)
- Tommy Tune's My One And Only opened on Broadway (1983)
- Romance, Romance moved to Broadway (1988)
- Cy Coleman's Will Rogers Follies opened on Broadway (1991)
- Revival of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters opened on Broadway (2003)
- The Drowsy Chaperone opened on Broadway (2006)
May 2
- Actor/dancer Vernon Castle born (1887)
- Lyricist Lorenz Hart born (1895)
- Actor/Singer Theodore Bikel born (1924)
- Actress/singer Christine Baranski born (1952)
- Revival of The King and I starring Yul Brynner opened on Broadway (1977)
- Sunday In The Park With George opened on Broadway (1984)
- Revival of 42nd Street opened on Broadway (2001)
- Caroline, or Change moved to Broadway (2004)
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opened on Broadway
May 3
- Actor/singer Bing Crosby born (1903)
- Composer/lyricist/librettist/actress Betty Comden born (1915)
- Director/choreographer Joe Layton born (1931)
- Lyricist/librettist/film producer Howard Ashman born (1950)
- Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella opened on Broadway (1956)
- Actor/singer Robert Cuccioli born (1958)
- The Fantasticks opened Off-Broadway (1960)
- Harold Rome's musical Gone With The Wind opened in London (1972)
- Annie opened in London (1978)
- The Moony Shapiro Songbook opened on Broadway (1981)
- Kander & Ebb's Kiss of the Spiderwoman opened on Broadway (1993)
- Love Musik opened on Broadway (2007)
May 4
- Theatre owner A. L. Erlanger born (1860)
- Wang starring DeWolf Hopper opened on Broadway (1891)
- Actor Howard Da Silva born (1909)
- Ernest In Love opened Off-Broadway (1960)
- Bernstein & Lerner's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue opened on Broadway (1976)
- Forever Plaid opened Off-Broadway (1990)
- The Look of Love opened on Broadway (2003)
- A revival of Sweet Charity starring Christina Applegate opened on Broadway (2005)
May 5
- Actress Ursula Jeans born (1906)
- Actress/singer Alice Faye born (1912)
- Actress/singer Pat Carroll born (1927)
- Revival of Of Thee I Sing opened on Broadway (1952)
- Damn Yankees opened on Broadway (1955)
May 6
- Actor/singer Jan Kiepura born (1902)
- Revival of Sally starring Bambi Lynn opened on Broadway (1948)
- Once on This Island opened Off-Broadway (1990)
- Annie Warbucks opened Off-Broadway (1993)
May 7
- Cole Porter's Can Can opened on Broadway (1953)
- Actress/singer Donna Murphy born (1968)
- Kurt Weill's Happy End opened on Broadway (1977)
- Is There Life After High School? opened on Broadway (1982)
- Song of Singapore opened Off-Broadway (1991)
May 8
- Actor/singer Ezio Pinza born (1892)
- Actress/singer Carmen Mathews born (1914)
- Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum opened on Broadway (1962)
- Lionel Bart's Blitz opened in London (1962)
May 9
- Playwright James M. Barrie (creator of Peter Pan) born (1860)
- Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928 opened on Broadway (1928)
- The Fats Waller revue Ain't Misbehavin' moved to Broadway (1978)
- Maury Yeston's Nine opened on Broadway (1982)
- Sondheim's Passion opened on Broadway (1994)
- 110 in the Shade revived on Broadway (2007)
May 10
- Lyricist/librettist Henry Blossom born (1866)
- Erminie starring Francis Wilson opened on Broadway (1886)
- Dancer/singer/actor Fred Astaire born (1899)
- Actress/singer Nancy Walker born (1922)
- The Garrick Gaities of 1926 opened on Broadway (1926)
- Playwright/librettist Arthur Kopit born (1937)
- Actress-singer Maureen Lippman born (1946)
- Angel opened on Broadway (1978)
- The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public opened on Broadway (1994)
- Disney's Tarzan opened on Broadway (2006)
May 11
- Composer/lyricist Irving Berlin born (1888)
- Actor/singer/comedian Phil Silvers born (1911)
- Rodgers & Hart's I Married an Angel opened on Broadway (1938)
- Actor/singer Boyd Gaines born (1953)
- Actor/singer George Dvorsky born (1959)
- Once Upon a Mattress starring Carol Burnett opened Off-Broadway (1959)
- Flora The Red Menace starring Liza Minnelli opened on Broadway (1965)
- The Baker's Wife opened on the road (1976)
- Lerner & Strouse's Dance A Little Closer opened & closed on Broadway (1983)
- Long-running revival of Grease opened on Broadway (1994)
- Billy Elliot opened in London (2005)
May 12
- Actress Katherine Hepburn born (1907)
- Composer Burt Bacharach born (1928)
- The Nervous Set opened on Broadway (1959)
- Lena Horne: A Lady and Her Music opened on Broadway (1981)
- Legendary flop Carrie opened on Broadway (1988)
May 13
- Composer Sir Arthur Sullivan born (1842)
- Actress/singer Bea Arthur born (1923)
- Actor/singer John Michael King born (1926)
- Adler & Ross's The Pajama Game opened on Broadway (1954)
- Cyrano starring Christopher Plummer opened on Broadway (1973)
- Revue Rodgers & Hart opened on Broadway (1975)
- The Utter Glory of Morrisey Hall opened & closed on Broadway (1979)
- Mayor opened Off-Broadway (1985)
May 14
- Vaudevillian/actor/female impersonator Julian Eltinge born (1883)
- Fain & Harburg's Flahooley opened on Broadway (1951)
- Bob Merrill's New Girl in Town starring Gwen Verdon opened on Broadway (1957)
- Working opened on Broadway (1978)
- Chess opened in London (1986)
May 15
- Producer/theatre owner Lee Shubert born (1873)
- Actress/singer Ellen Hanley born (1926)
- Actress/singer Anna Maria Alberghetti born (1936)
- Actress/singer Lanie Kazan born (1940)
- Actor/singer Jason Graae born (1958)
- The film Gigi premiered (1958)
- Revival of Anything Goes opened Off-Broadway (1962)
May 16
- Singer/actor Richard Tauber born (1892)
- Weber & Fields' Whoop-Dee-Doo opened on Broadway (1905)
- Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun starring Ethel Merman opened on Broadway (1947)
- New Faces of 1952 opened on Broadway (1952)
- The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd opened on Broadway (1965)
May 17
- Composer/lyricist Bob Merrill born (1921)
- Actor/singer Jerry Lanning born (1943)
- Stephen Schwartz's Godspell opened Off-Broadway (1971)
May 18
- Composer/lyricist/librettist Meredith Willson born (1902)
- Actor/singer Robert Morse born (1931)
- Dream With Music opened on Broadway (1944)
- Donnybrook opened on Broadway (1961)
- The Me Nobody Knows opened Off-Broadway (1970)
May 19
- Composer Sandy Wilson born (1924)
- Blossom Time opened on Broadway (1924)
- Ziegfeld's revival of Show Boat opened on Broadway (1932)
- Bravo Giovanni opened on Broadway (1962)
- Bob Merrill's Hannah, 1939 opened Off-Broadway (1990)
May 20
- Minstrel Thomas D. Rice born (1808)
- Actress/singer Constance Towers born (1933)
- Actress/singer Judy Kuhn born (1958)
- Forever Plaid opened Off-Broadway(1990)
May 21
- Composer Harry Tierney born (1890)
- Composer Fats Waller born (1904)
- Actor/singer Marc Jacoby born (1947)
- Styne & Sondheim's Gypsy starring Ethel Merman opened on Broadway (1959)
- A Time for Singing opened on Broadway (1966)
May 22
- British actress/singer/dancer Binnie Hale born (1899)
May 23
- British actress/singer Jose Collins born (1887)
- Actress/singer Betty Garrett born (1919)
- Eubie Blake's revue Shuffle Along opened in New York (1921)
- Revival of Finian's Rainbow opened on Broadway (1960)
May 24
- Jerry Herman's Mame starring Angela Lansbury opened on Broadway (1966)
- Revival of The Wiz opened on Broadway (1984)
May 25
- Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore opened in London (1878)
- Dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson born (1878)
- Actress/singer Leslie Uggams born (1943)
May 26
- Ziegfeld's designer Joseph Urban born (1872)
- Actor Charles Winninger born (1884)
- Actor/singer Al Jolson born (1886?)
- Actor/singer/comedian Bob Hope born (1903)
- British actor/singer George Formby born (1904)
- George Gershwin's La La Lucille opened on Broadway (1919)
- Singer/songwriter Peggy Lee born (1920)
- Actor/singer Ron Holgate born (1937)
- Seventh Heaven opened on Broadway (1955)
- Fade Out Fade In starring Carol Burnett opened on Broadway (1964)
May 27
- Composer Harold Rome born (1928)
- Something's Afoot opened on Broadway (1976)
- Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? opened on Broadway (1982)
May 28
- Vaudeville inventor & impresario Tony Pastor born (1848)
- The Grand Street Follies of 1928 opened on Broadway (1928)
- Irving Berlin's Louisiana Purchase opened on Broadway (1940)
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's Me and Juliet opened on Broadway (1953)
- The Magic Show starring Doug Henning opened on Broadway (1974)
May 29
- Actress/singer Bea Lillie born (1894)
- Musical theatre & film historian Stanley Green born (1923)
- Fanny Brice dies at age 60 (1951)
- Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury opened in London (1973)
May 30
- Producer Charles B. Dillingham born (1868)
- Librettist Joseph Stein born (1912)
- Actor/singer Scott Holmes born (1952)
- Actress/singer Tonya Pinkins born (1962)
May 31
- Producer/librettist Frank Mandel born (1884)
- Actor/singer Don Ameche born (1908)
- Hollywood Pinafore opened on Broadway (1945)
- Cole Porter's Around the World in 80 Days opened on Broadway (1946)
- Actor/singer Gregory Harrison born (1950)
- Actress/singer Brooke Shields born (1965)
- Annie Get Your Gun revived on Broadway (1st time) starring Ethel Merman (1966)
- Beatlemania began performances on Broadway - never officially opened (1977)
- Richard Rodgers' I Remember Mama opened on Broadway (1979)
- The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened for a brief return run on Broadway (1982)