85 YEARS AGO (1928)
Edward Albee is born in Washington, D.C. He is raised by adoptive parents Reed and Frances Albee, in Westchester, N.Y. His first major play, The Zoo Story, receives its first production in Berlin in 1959. Albee will go on to win three Pulitzer Prizes and be hailed as the successor to Miller, Williams and O’Neill.
35 YEARS AGO (1978)
New Jersey writer Christopher Ferdinand Durang has his Broadway debut. His play, A History of the American Film, spoofs dozens of silver-screen hits and classics. It opens at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre on March 30 and runs for just 21 performances before closing in April.
30 YEARS AGO (1983)
Twentysomethings Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Val Kilmer star in John Byrne’s Slab Boys. The play, about a group of boys who pull pranks to escape reality and express defiance against their superiors, opens at the Playhouse Theatre on Broadway on March 7. It closes after 19 previews and 48 performances.
20 YEARS AGO (1993)
Ensemble-based, multicultural Tricklock Theatre Company of Albuquerque, N.M., is founded in a garage. Then known as Riverside Repertory Theatre, Tricklock breaks through with a touring production of The Seagull, led by Leonardo Shapiro. The company will go on to collaborate, tour and foster artistic exchanges with artists around the world. Tricklock currently hosts the annual Revolutions International Theatre Festival.
