1899 The Girl From Maxime's, one of Georges Feydeau's most sparkling farces, has its U.S. premiere at the Criterion Theatre.
1921 Loew's State Theatre opens a block south of the Palace in Times Square. It has appearances by W.C. Fields, David Warfield, and Frank Fay, among others.
1922 George Kelly's comedy The Torch Bearers opens a 135-performance run at the 48th Street Theatre.
1934 George Abbott directs Harry Madden and Philip Dunning's comedy Kill That Story, opening at the Booth Theatre for a run of 117 performances. The play about a reporter who foils a plot by two villainous publishers to buy an honest newspaper for a political boss, stars Buford Armitage, James Bell, Matt Briggs, William Foran, William Lynn, and Claire Carleton.
1990 Sandy, the canine companion of the title character in the original Broadway production of Annie, dies at the age of 16. Once an abused puppy, he was bought from the Connecticut Humane Society for $8 on the day he was to be put to sleep. The pooch, who was named for the part he played in the production, only missed 14 performances of the 2,377, having booked a Las Vegas gig with the show's original star Andrea McArdle.
1999 Tony Award-winning actor Roger Rees dons his directorial hat as he helms William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Old Globe in California. Dakin Matthews stars as Falstaff.
2015 Kyle Jean-Baptiste, who made history as the youngest actor and first African-American to play the role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables on Broadway, dies at age 21.
Today's Birthdays: John E. Ince (1878-1947). Preston Sturges (1898-1959). Barry Sullivan (1912-1994). Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982). Sono Osato (1919-2018). Dick O'Neill (1928-1998). Patricia Conolly (b. 1933). Elliott Gould (b. 1938). Frances Ruffelle (b. 1965). Carla Gugino (b. 1971). Lea Michele (b. 1986).
Sandy and Andrea McArdle in Annie
