TIM MAGUIRE

Comedian & film maker Mel Brooks is 96 today.
(born Melvin Kaminsky in New York City)

On June 7, 1972, the production opened at the Broadhurst
Theatre on Broadway, and on November 21, it moved to the
Royale Theatre there, where it ran until January 27, 1980.

For the five final weeks of the run, the show moved to the
larger Majestic Theatre. By the time it closed on April 13,
1980, it had run 3,388 performances.

Deeply in debt and relegated to a shabby theater, the musical
Shuffle Along debuted at the Sixty-Third Street Music Hall on
May 23, 1921. The odds were stacked against the revue-style
show, written and performed by African Americans, but it ran
for over a year, making it the first major Black American musical
on the Great White Way.

Shuffle Along was written by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake,
shown below,vaudeville veterans who worked together for
over six decades.

On April 9, 1962, Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno become the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar, for her role of Anita in West Side
Story (1961).

Moreno, who was born in Puerto Rico in 1931 and grew up in Long Island, New York, began acting at a young age, landing her first Broadway role at the age of 13. She will turn 91 in December.

NEW YORK (AP) — A musical about Neil Diamond has found
the polished theater gem who will play the icon onstage, Will
Swenson.

Swenson has been tapped to lead "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil
Diamond Musical" this summer when it makes its debut at Boston’s
Emerson Colonial Theatre. Swenson calls it a not straightforward musical.

Swenson’s Broadway credits include "Waitress" opposite Sara
Bareilles, creating the role of Javert in the 2014 revival of "Les Misérables," and starring in "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert"
and  "110 in the Shade."

Diamond, 81, is the singer and songwriter of massive hits like
"Sweet Caroline," "Song Sung Blue" and "Cracklin’ Rosie."
He’s also written hits recorded by other artists, such as "I’m a
Believer" by the Monkees, "Red Red Wine" by UB40 and "You
Don’t Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Streisand.

WILL SWENSON

NEIL DIAMOND