110 Years Ago (1904)

Moss Hart is born on Oct. 24 in New York. The writer/director will be celebrated for writing plays such as You Can’t Take It With You, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Once in a Lifetime, all with his collaborator George S. Kaufman, and for directing the original productions of the musicals My Fair Lady and Camelot.

50 Years ago (1964)

Sam Shepard’s first two plays, Cowboys and The Rock Garden, premiere on a double bill Off-Off Broadway at Theatre Genesis, the upstairs parish hall at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery. Shepard would be based there until 1971, when he moved to England, marking the end of his most prolific period.

45 Years Ago (1969)

Performances across the country are cancelled for the evening due to Vietnam Moratorium Day, Oct. 15. Joel Grey contemplates taking out a newspaper ad to explain his absence from the Cabaret tour in Dallas. While Hair goes on as scheduled on Broadway, the proceeds from the evening’s box office are donated to charities of the cast’s choice.

15 Years Ago (1999)

The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler, opens on Oct. 3 at the Westside Theatre in New York City, where it will play for 1,381 performances before closing on Jan. 26, 2003. The play will take the 1996-97 Obie for its original production at HERE Arts Center.