1867 Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. is born in Chicago, Illinois. He goes on to become one of the most powerful showmen ever. His Follies, filled with beautiful women and exciting variety acts, becomes a 25-year tradition following the first Follies of 1907. He introduces talent such as Fanny Brice, Bert Williams, Ed Wynn, W.C. Fields, Marion Davies, Eddie Cantor, and Will Rogers.

Disney’s Aladdin, which opened March 20, 2014 at the New Amsterdam Theatre, celebrates seven years on Broadway today. Aladdin, directed and choreographed Casey Nicholaw, was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical, with James Monroe Iglehart winning Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as The Genie.

Seeing a show in London’s West End is a special experience for many reasons, but one is the centuries-long history surrounding the dozens of theaters. Where can you learn more about those storied performance halls? Enter Neil Maxfield, owner of The West End Musical Walking Tour. He takes tourists around the famed theatre district discovering fascinating architecture, anecdotes, and historical figures from the 1700’s to today.

Watching a piece of choreography, one sees image after image, animated through movement, brought to life by a performer. But distilling dance to a single picture is an art form all its own. From just a few movements, an audience can immediately discern a story, an emotion, or even identify a choreographer. The flexed jazz hands in Bob Fosse’s work in Chicago, the kick line in Michael Bennett’s work in A Chorus Line, and more all take on a life of their own when isolated from the larger body of work.

The Tony and Olivier-winning Jersey Boys will return to London’s West End, opening at the newly renovated Trafalgar Theatre July 28 with an official opening scheduled for August 10.

1872 Birthday of singer and actor Anna Held, future wife of Florenz Ziegfeld, and the classic sexy French flirt of her era. She plays that role in a series of musical vehicles including La Poupee, The French Maid, Mam’selle Napoleon, The Parisian Model, and Miss Innocence.

Two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster celebrates her birthday March 18. In honor of the stage and television actor, we take a look at her greatest musical theatre performances.

Audible continues its spring releases March 18 with an audio play version of 2020 Tony nominee The Sound Inside, starring Mary-Louise Parker and Will Hochman, reprising their roles from the Broadway production. The Adam Rapp play follows an Ivy League professor who approaches a mysterious student with a troubling proposal.

Also returning from the Broadway staging is director David Cromer, along with composer and sound designer Daniel Kluger.

Read on for more theatre headlines you may have missed in today’s news.

Nearly a year after the curtain came down on Tina: The Tina Turner Musical due to COVID-19, the male cast of the hit musical reunited for a photo shoot with Andrew Werner. The shoot, led by company member Sheldon Henry, commemorated the show and the Broadway community.