Today in Theatre History: MAY 15

By Anne Bradley
May 15, 2008

1922 Father and son playwriting team J.C. and Elliot Nugent come up with Kempy. They also star in this comedy of mixed-up lovers, staged by Augustin Duncan. Performances will run at Broadway's Belmont Theatre beyond the season.

1935 Vivien Leigh is one of the stars of The Mask of Virtue at London's Ambassadors' Theatre. Adapted by Ashley Dukes from Carl Sternheim's original, this comedy will run 117 performances.

1951 Tommy Trinder and Pat Kirkwood are Fancy Free at London's Prince of Wales Theatre. This revue is staged by Charles Henry. Sketches and lyrics are by Barbara Gordon and Basil Thomas. There will be 369 performances.

1953 Peter Brook stages a revival of Venice Preserved at the Lyric, Hammersmith Theatre in London. The cast includes John Gielgud and Paul Scofield.

1971 British director Sir (William) Tyrone Guthrie dies today at the age of 70. The man who made his professional debut as an actor at the Oxford Playhouse would later be known for his pioneering direction of Shakespearean productions, especially those for the Old Vic-Sadler's Wells Company. He was named the first director of Canada's Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Stratford and then became director of the Minnesota (Tyrone Guthrie) Theatre Company, which he helped found in Minneapolis.