ON THIS DAY IN 2025:
Welsh singer Shirley Bassey (pictured) turns 88 today, while singer R Kelly celebrates his 58th birthday and Jamaican singer Sean Paul turns 52. Had they still been alive, David Bowie would have turned 77 today and Elvis Presley would have turned 90.
Cynthia Erivo, who plays green witch Elphaba in the film version of Wicked – and who won a 2016 Best Actress Tony Award for her role as Celie in The Color Purple: The Musical – was born in London on this day in 1987. She is the daughter of Nigerian immigrant parents.
On the theatre scene, the Wilford Leach staging of The Pirates of Penzance moved to Broadway on this day in 1981. It starred Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt and Estelle Parsons. According to Playbill, the show ran for 787 performances, setting a Broadway record for a Gilbert and Sullivan work.
Also interesting, reports Playbill, is that on this day in 1989 the musical 42nd Street closed after 3 486 performances, becoming the longest-running show from producer David Merrick. The production opened in 1980 and took the Tony Award for best musical.
On this day in 2024, at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Oppenheimer took the award for best film drama and also the award for best actor (drama), for Cillian Murphy. Poor Things was named as best comedy or musical, and Emma Stone took the award for best actress (comedy or musical). Barbie was given the inaugural Cinematic and Box-Office Achivement award.
Topping the UK singles chart this week in 1982 was Human League with Don’t You Want Me?, the group’s only No 1 hit in Britain. The song, which spent five weeks crowning the UK chart, also reached the top of the American singles chart. Just saying…
.....SoSuterBill..... 