1979 Brenda Braxton, Cleavant Derricks, Reginald Vel Johnson, and Lynn Thigpen are among the denizens of Wonderland in But Never Jam Today, Vinnette Carroll's all-black adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice in Wonderland." It will run 8 performances at the Longacre Theatre.

1985 A revised version of the musical revue What's a Nice Country Like You...Doing in a State Like This? runs at Off-Broadway's Actors' Playhouse. Missy Baldino, Jane Brucker, Steve Mulch, Hugh Panaro, Rob Resnick sing music by Cary Hoffman and lyrics by Ira Gasman. The show plays 252 performances before closing Feb. 9.

2003 A musical in which puppets are the main characters? It may sound crazy, but the PG-13-rated musical, Avenue Q, opens today at the Golden Theatre, confounding skeptics with an eyebrow-raising run that will bring it the 2004 Tony Award as Best Musical,

2004 On the Record, a revue featuring songs from classic Disney films and Disney's Broadway outings, closes in Denver after an eight-month tour. It's the first Disney legit show not to play on Broadway.

2009 Sheryl Lee Ralph, Barbara Walsh and Karen Ziemba sing new songs by the legendary team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland at the opening night of the new musical The First Wives Club. Playing at The Old Globe in San Diego, CA, the musical inspired by the novel and film of the same name is directed by Francesca Zambello, and features a libretto by Rupert Holmes.

Today's Birthdays: Don Murray 1929. Sab Shimono 1943. Geraldine Chaplin 1944. Richard Griffiths 1947. Vernel Bagneris 1949. Wesley Snipes 1962. Eve Best 1971. Daniel Evans 1973.