All stories by Steve Luber on BroadwayStars

Thursday, November 22, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 22 by David Gewirtzman and Anne Bradley, Steve Luber and Sam Maher

1937 Ethel Barrymore and Dudley Digges star in The Ghost of Yankee Doodle. Written by Sidney Howard, the play deals with a woman pacifist whose industrialist family stands to profit from sel…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, November 21, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 21 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Steve Luber, Anne Bradley and Sam Maher

1694 Birthday of French author François Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire (1694-1778) whose satirical novel "Candide" served as source material for the 1956 Leonard Ber…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, November 20, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: NOVEMBER 20 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1922 The Lucky One is the brother who doesn't get the girl in this A. A. Milne play. Staged at the Theatre Guild by Theodore Komisarjevsky with a cast including Dennis King, Romney Brent…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Monday, November 19, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: NOVEMBER 19 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1906 George Arliss and Mrs. Fiske star in The New York Idea, Langdon Mitchell's play which runs 66 performances at the Lyric Theatre.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, November 18, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 18 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber, Anne Bradley

1836 Birthday of satirist William S. Gilbert, later to achieve immortality as the lyricist half of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta-writing team that produced The Mikado, The Pirates of P…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Saturday, November 17, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 17 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1901 Birthday of actor/director/producer/teacher/acting coach Lee Strasberg (1901-1982) in Austria-Hungary. As a founder of the Group Theatre and Artistic Director of the Actors Studio, he w…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, November 16, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 16 by Robert Viagas and Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1889 Playwright and director George S. Kaufman (1889-1961) is born today in Pittsburgh. A former newsman, Kaufman will make his mark with the comedy Dulcy in 1921, and will go on to write do…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, November 15, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 15 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1875 British comic operetta titans W. S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan make their U.S. debut today with Trial by Jury at the Eagle Variety Theatre, where it runs 8 performances.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, November 14, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: NOVEMBER 14 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1905 Blanche Bates is Minnie, sweetheart of the mines in Girl of the Golden West. She tends a saloon, fugitive lover and pursuing sheriff. Writer, director, producer David Belasco was no str…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, November 13, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 13 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1833 Birthday of master actor Edwin Booth (1833-1893), a major interpreter of Shakespeare and brother to actor Junius Brutus Booth and presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth. Broadway's…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Monday, November 12, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 12 by Robert Viagas and Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1874 Birthday of pioneering African-American performer-composer Bert Williams (1874-1922), who wrote music for Broadway's In Dahomey (1903) and Abyssinia (1906), but achieved even greate…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, November 9, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 9 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Anne Bradley and Steve Luber

1818 Playwright and novelist Ivan Turgenev is born in Russia. His most notable play is A Month in the Country, but he will make a bit of history in 2002 when his 150-year-old play Fortune's …

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, November 7, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: NOVEMBER 7 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1904 The timeless anthem "Give My Regards to Broadway" is first sung tonight on the Broadway stage tonight at the opening of George M. Cohan's Little Johnny Jones at the Libert…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, November 6, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: NOVEMBER 6 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1854 Birthday of John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), composer of countless marches, who also found time to write Broadway musicals including Chris and the Wonderful Lamp (1900), The Free Lance (1…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, October 26, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 26 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1844 William Harrigan, half of the iconic 1880s writing and performing team of Harrigan and Hart, is born today. He and Tony Hart will create the popular Mulligan Guards characters reflectin…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, October 24, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 24 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1904 Birthday of Moss Hart, Broadway playwright who will write or cowrite The Man Who Came to Dinner, Once in a Lifetime, As Thousands Cheer, You Can't Take it With You and Lady in the Dark,…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, October 23, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 23 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1844 Actress Sarah Bernhardt born today. "The Divine Sarah" will create many memorable roles in French and English, notably in Alexandre Dumas, fils' classic La Dame aux Cameli…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, October 21, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 21 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1933 Trying to follow-up the success of their Pulitzer-winning musical Of Thee I Sing, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind bring back President John Wintergre…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Saturday, October 20, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 20 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1882 Birthday of Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born actor who plays a variety of character roles before landing the part that will make him an icon, the title role in Dracula, first on Broadway…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, October 17, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: OCTOBER 17 by Robert Viagas and Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1888 Broadway premiere of the W. S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan operetta The Yeomen of the Guard.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Monday, October 15, 2012

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 15 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1881 Birth of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse — P.G. Wodehouse to theatre lovers — in England. He will go on to write the "Jeeves" stories as well as many Broadway musicals including …

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, November 17, 2011

Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 18 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber, Anne Bradley

1836 Birthday of satirist William S. Gilbert, later to achieve immortality as the lyricist half of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta-writing team that produced The Mikado, The Pirates of P…

SOURCE: Playbill at 07:00PM
Monday, November 14, 2011

Today in Theatre History: NOVEMBER 14 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1905 Blanche Bates is Minnie, sweetheart of the mines in Girl of the Golden West. She tends a saloon, fugitive lover and pursuing sheriff. Writer, director, producer David Belasco was no str…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, November 13, 2011

Today In Theatre History: NOVEMBER 13 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher, Steve Luber and Anne Bradley

1833 Birthday of master actor Edwin Booth (1833-1893), a major interpreter of Shakespeare and brother to actor Junius Brutus Booth and presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth. Broadway's…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, October 28, 2011

Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 28 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1928 Six-time Tony-winning costume designer Florence Klotz is born today. Her designs will be worn by the original casts of Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, On the Twentieth…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, October 21, 2011

Today in Theatre History: OCTOBER 21 by David Gewirtzman and Robert Viagas, Sam Maher and Steve Luber

1933 Trying to follow-up the success of their Pulitzer-winning musical Of Thee I Sing, George and Ira Gershwin, George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind bring back President John Wintergreen and…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards