On Nov. 23, 1938, George Abbott, Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers' The Boys From Syracuse opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre. The musical about two twins separated at birth was adapted from The Comedy of Errors.
On Nov. 29, 1939, Gilbert Seldes, Erik Charell, Jimmy Van Heusen and Eddie de Lange's Swingin' the Dream opened on Broadway at the Center Theatre. The jazz musical, which starred Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong, was based on A Midsummer Night's Dream. It ran for only 13 performances.
On Dec. 30, 1948, Cole Porter, Bella Spewack and Sam Spewack's Kiss Me, Kate premiered on Broadway at the New Century Theatre, starring Alfred Drake and Patricia Morison. The backstage musical takes place during a performance of a musical version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.
On Sept. 26, 1957, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's West Side Story opened on Broadway starring Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence. The musical re-sets Romeo and Juliet to 1950s Manhattan.
On Dec. 1, 1971, Galt MacDermot, John Guare and Mel Shapiro's Two Gentlemen of Verona opened on Broadway starring Jonelle Allen, Diana Davila, Clifton Davis and Raul Julia. The rock musical, based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, was first seen in summer 1971 as part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park season.
On Feb. 17, 1976, Cliff Jones' Rockabye Hamlet opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre. Starring Larry Marshall and Alan Weeks, the Hamlet-based rock musical ran only seven performances.
On Nov. 10, 1981, Donald Driver and Michael Valenti's Oh, Brother! opened on Broadway at the ANTA Theatre starring David-James Carroll and Harry Groener. The Middle East-set musical, based on The Comedy of Errors, ran only three performances.
On March 20, 1997, Cheryl L. West's Play On!, featuring the songs of Duke Ellington, opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Carl Anderson, Cheryl Freeman and Tonya Pinkins starred in the musical, which re-set Twelfth Night in 1940s Harlem.
On Nov. 13, 1997, Elton John, Tim Rice, Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi's The Lion King, based on the 1994 Disney animated film, opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The musical about a lion cub prince in Africa, is partly based on Hamlet.
On March 24, 2005, Joe DiPietro's All Shook Up, featuring the songs of Elvis Presley, opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre. Cheyenne Jackson starred in the Twelfth Night-inspired musical about a mysterious, leather-jacketed stranger who shakes up a small Midwestern town in the 1950s.
