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[0:05] Mark Peikert: Good morning, theater lover, and happy May 14th.

[0:08] Mark Peikert: I'm Mark Peikert, editor in chief of Playbill, and you are listening to Today in Theatre History.

[0:14] Mark Peikert: Julian Eltinge was born today in 1899.

[0:17] Mark Peikert: One of the highest paid actors in America at one point, Eltinge found fame as a female impersonator on stage and film.

[0:24] Mark Peikert: Described by Dorothy Parker as ambisextress, Eltinge was awarded the honor of having a theater named after him on 42nd Street in 1912.

[0:33] Mark Peikert: Over the years, it drifted from a legitimate house to a burlesque house to infamy, closed down in the 40s as part of a public morality campaign.

[0:41] Mark Peikert: It is now the AMC 25, having been lifted and moved 170 feet west.

[0:47] Mark Peikert: Eltinge never performed in it.

[0:52] Mark Peikert: Barbara Cook made her Broadway debut in 1951's Flahooley.

[0:56] Mark Peikert: The musical's cast also included Uwin Corey, Peruvian singer and Incan Princess Ema Sumac, and Bill Baird's Marionettes.

[1:04] Mark Peikert: A satire of capitalism that involves a genie, singing dolls, and thinly veiled swipes at McCarthyism, it lasted 40 performances at the Broadhurst.

[1:14] Mark Peikert: And if you have a moment, investigate Ema Sumac's remarkable career.

[1:20] Mark Peikert: Gwen Verdon and Thelma Ritter starred in 1957's New Girl in Town, George Abbott and Bob Merrill's musical adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Bob Fosse.

[1:32] Mark Peikert: It ran 431 performances at the 46th Street Theater.

[1:37] Mark Peikert: At the 1958 Tony Awards, Verdon and Ritter tied for leading actress in a musical, the first tie in Tony history.

[1:45] Mark Peikert: It was Verdon's third Tony in four years.

[1:51] Mark Peikert: The East West Players, formed to truthfully express Asian Pacific American thought and depict on stage Asian Pacific American life, opened in Los Angeles in 1965.

[2:02] Mark Peikert: The first performance was Rashomon.

[2:07] Mark Peikert: Playwright Craig Lucas and composer-lyricist Craig Carnelia opened the musical Three Postcards off-Broadway in 1986 at Playwrights Horizons.

[2:16] Mark Peikert: The show, about three friends who have a reunion, was directed by Norman Rene.

[2:22] Mark Peikert: For more theater history, visit Playbill.com.

[2:25] Mark Peikert: And for more great podcasts, visit BroadwayPodcastNetwork.com.