1929 Actor Raymond Hitchcock dies. He made his first lead appearance in The Yankee Consul at the Tremont Theatre in Boston. He also appeared in Hitchy-Koo, The Sap, and Raymond Hitchcock's Pinwheel.

1940 This is the first date many legitimate theatres begin Sunday performances. In the past, the Winter Garden, the Selwyn and the Century had presented Sunday evening variety shows, but these were special vaudeville programs.

1942 Eleven years after creating the role, Paul Muni again is the Counsellor-at-Law. Elmer Rice wrote and stages this play, which will run more than 32 weeks.

1950 "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" as Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls opens at the Forty-sixth Street Theatre. George S. Kaufman directs and Michael Kidd choreographs this Abe Burrows, Jo Swerling and Loesser musical based on Damon Runyan's stories. Sam Levene is Nathan Detroit, co-starring with Robert (father of Alan) Alda, Isabel Bigsley, Vivian Blaine and Stubby Kaye. The show gets rave reviews and runs for a total of 1,194 performances.

1961 Actress Ruth Chatterton dies at age 67. Her stage appearances include Daddy Long-Legs, and Mary Rose. 1997 In the one-man show written and directed by Charles Messina, Paul Goncalves will portray Freddie Mercury awakening from death with a new lease on life tonight at the Sanford Meisner Theatre. In Mercury: The Afterlife And Times Of A Rock God, the rock singer struggles to make sense of his fate and realizes that fame, fortune and talent aren't enough for true peace of mind. "Beyond the darkness of his fear," reads the press release, "shines a light far brighter than the star he was on earth." It ran 216 performances.

-- By Anne Bradley, Steve Luber and Sam Maher