Wednesday, November 16, 2005

 

Spotlight: Broadway came alive with the sound of music on this date in 1959, when the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. The show starred Mary Martin as Maria, the young woman engaged as a governess for the seven children of Capt. Georg von Trapp, played by Theodore Bikel. The film version of the story was made in 1965, and won that year's Oscar for Best Movie. Robert Wise received the Oscar for Best Director for the film.

Quote: "When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything." – "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music

Word of the day: ritter: a knight, the lowest ranking title of nobility in German-speaking areas; Ritter, in Georg Ritter von Trapp, is a title, not a middle name. (© )

Today's News:

• snail mail: US stamps to go up 2 cents to 39 cents on January 8 (story)
• Japan: princess gives up title to marry commoner (story)
• Jones Soda Co.: rolls out salmon soda, joining turkey-and-gravy and pumpkin pie flavors (story)

Today's History:

• Jadwiga: blonde blue-eyed beauty became "king" of Poland (1384)
• Oklahoma: the Sooner state became No. 46 of the US (1907)
• US, USSR: established diplomatic relations (1933)

Today's Birthdays:

• W.C. Handy: one of the 1st blues composers (1873-1958)
• Elizabeth Drew: political analyst and journalist (70)
• actresses: Marg Helgenberger (47), Lisa Bonet (38), Martha Plimpton (35)