Today in 1980, the second Broadway revival of Oklahoma! closed at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 293 performances. Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943.

Today in 1980, 42nd Street opened at the Wintergarden Theatre, where it ran for 3486 performances. 42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes and the subsequent 1933 film adaptation, it focuses on the efforts of famed dictatorial Great White Way director Julian Marsh to mount a successful stage production of a musical extravaganza at the height of the Great Depression.

Happy Birthday, Andrew Rannells! Rannells played Bob Gaudio in the First National Tour of Jersey Boys. In January 2009, he reprised the role of Gaudio in the musical's Broadway production. Rannells originated the role of Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, a musical written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez. For his performance, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. His last performance was June 10, 2012. He will soon play Bryan Buckley in Ryan Murphy's new television series The New Normal on NBC.

Happy Birthday, James Corden! In 2004, Corden played the role of Timms in the original London stage production of Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, as well as in the Broadway, and Sydney productions. In 2011 he attracted international attention as the lead in the award-winning comedy play One Man, Two Guvnors, which transferred from the National Theatre to the West End and then to Broadway, and was also cinecast worldwide via National Theatre Live. For his ongoing Broadway run of the play, Corden won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Today in 1983, La Cage Aux Folles opened at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 1761 performances. With a book by Harvey Fierstein and lyrics and music by Jerry Herman, it is based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret. The original 1983 Broadway production received nine nominations for Tony Awards and won six, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The success of the musical spawned a West End production and several international runs. The 2004 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival, the 2008 London revival garnered the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. The 2010 Broadway revival was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. La Cage aux Folles is the only musical which has won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical twice and the only show that has won a Best Production Tony Award (Best Musical or Best Revival of a Musical) for each of its Broadway productions.

Today in 2007, the second Broadway revival of Grease opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 554 performances. Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (loosely based on William Howard Taft School), follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love, cars, and drive-ins.

Today in 1981, the second Broadway revival of My Fair Lady opened at the Uris Theatre (now the George Gershwin Theatre), where it ran for 120 performances. My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well born lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals.

Today in 2008, the first Broadway revival of A Chrous Line closed at the Schoenfeld Theatre, where it ran for 759 performances. A Chorus Line is a musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch. With nineteen main characters, it is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. The show provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers. The original Broadway production received 12 Tony Award nominations and winning nine of them, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Happy Birthday, Cristin Milioti! Milioti currently stars in the Tony-Award winning musical ONCE. Her other Broadway credits include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Coram Boy. Off-Broadway credits include Once, The Little Foxes, Stunning (Lucille Lortel nom.), That Face, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Retributionists, Crooked.

Today in 2002, Hairspray opened at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it ran for 2642 performances. Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s.

Today in 1997, the first Broadway revival of 1776 opened at Criterion Center Stage Right, where it ran for 333 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.

Today in 1986, Me and My Girl opened at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 1420 performances. Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth. The musical had a successful original run on the West End in 1937 and very successful revivals in both London and New York in the 1980s.

Today in 1989, the first Broadway revival of Shenandoah opened at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson Theatre), where it ran for 32 performances. Shenandoah is a musical that was written in 1975 with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and a book by Udell, Philip Rose and James Lee Barrett, based on Barrett's original screenplay for the 1965 film Shenandoah. The musical first opened at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1974 and then transferred to Broadway, opening on January 7, 1975. It ran on Broadway for a total of 1,050 performances, closing August 7, 1977. The production was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won two, one for Best Actor in a Musical (John Cullum) and the other for Best Book of a Musical.

Happy Birthday Rachel York! York has appeared on Broadway as Fantine in Les Miserables; Norma in Victor/Victoria (Drama Desk Award) with Julie Andrews; Marguerite in The Scarlet Pimpernel; Miss Fancy in Sly Fox with Richard Dreyfuss; and Christine Colgate in Dirty Rotten Scoundrelswith Jonathan Pryce. She appeared off-Broadway opposite Julie Andrews in Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together and in the Lincoln Center Theater production of Dessa Rose. Most recently, Rachel was seen in The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman and created the role of Cruella de Vil in The 101 Dalmatians Musical directed by Jerry Zaks.

Today in 1995, the first Broadway revival of Damn Yankees closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 533 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 1974, A Little Night Music closed 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 1965, Oliver! opened at the Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 64 performances. Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. It premiered in the West End in 1960, enjoying a long run, a successful Broadway production in 1963 and further tours and revivals. It was made into a musical film in 1968. Major London revivals played from 1994-1998 and again from 2009-2011.

Happy Birthday, Sam Mendes! Sam Mendes is best known for whis work as the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, and his direction of the film American Beauty and the Broadway production of Cabaret on Broadway starring Alan Cumming. His production of Oliver! became the longest running show ever to play at the London Palladium. Additional stage credits includeTennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Stephen Sondheim's Company (which had the first ever African American 'Bobby'), Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus and his farewell duo of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, which transferred to the Brooklyn Academy Of Music and Gypsy on Broadway starring Bernadette Peters.

Today in 2003 Avenue Q opened at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 2534 performances. Avenue Q was conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore. Avenue Q is an 'autobiographical and biographical' coming-of-age parable, addressing and satirizing the issues and anxieties associated with entering adulthood. It opened Off-Broadway in March 2003, co-produced by The New Group and the Vineyard Theatre, and later won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and spawned Las Vegas and West End productions, two national tours, and a variety of international productions.

Today in 2008, A Catered Affair closed at the Walter Kerr Theatre, where it ran for 116 performances. A Catered Affair is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film The Catered Affair written by Gore Vidal and the original 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky, set in 1953 in the Bronx. John Doyle directed the production, which starred Fierstein, Faith Prince and Tom Wopat.

Today in 1992, the third Broadway revival of Man of La Mancha closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 108 performances. Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the 'mad' knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.The original 1965 Broadway production ran for 2,328 performances and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has been revived four times on Broadway, becoming one of the most enduring works of musical theatre.

Today in 1975, A Chrous Line opened at the Shubert THeatre, where it ran for 6137 performances. A Chorus Line is a musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch. With nineteen main characters, it is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. The show provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers. The original Broadway production received 12 Tony Award nominations and winning nine of them, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Happy Birthday Kristin Chenoweth! On Broadway, Chenoweth has appeared in Steel Pier, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Epic Proportions, Funny Girl, Wicked, The Apple Tree, Promises, Promises, and On the Twentieth Century. Her Off-Broadway credits include The Fantasticks, Box Office of the Damned, Scapin, Strike Up the Band, A New Brain, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Candide, The Apple Tree, Stairway to Paradise, Love, Loss and What I Wore and many more.

Happy Birthday Daniel Radcliffe! Radcliffe is best known for playing the title role in all eight of the blockbuster Harry Potter films. In 2008, he made his Broadway debut to much acclaim in EQUUS. Radcliffe won BroadwayWorld.com 's 2009 Theatre Fans' Choice Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role in EQUUS. He returned to Broadway in March 2011 with HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, and was succeeded by Darren Criss, and later Nick Jonas.

Happy Birthday Alan Menken! For Disney, Menken has scored The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas, each of which won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Enchanted, and Tangled. Menken has collaborated on several occasions with lyricists includingHoward Ashman,Tim RiceandStephen Schwartz. On Broadway, Menken has composed for The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, King David, Beauty and the Beast and, now, Sister Act.