1. 1943: Oklahoma Musical opens on Broadway
PHOTO: Wiki
PHOTO: NPR
On this Day in 1943 the Oklahoma debuted on Broadway starting one of the longest running shows in the history of theater. The show would play a total of 2,212 shows over the next 15 years which was very interesting considering it had received poor reviews in the shows leading up to the Broadway release. Apparently the shows must play outside New York first to make sure they are “worthy” of Broadway. According to a telegram sent from New Haven Connecticut by an assistant of Walter Winchell, a famous gossip columnist, which said ” No girls, No Legs, No Chance”. This turned out to be one of the worst predictions in the Theater world and is talked about still to this day in some circles.
2. 1889: The Eifell Tower opens
PHOTO: Premium Tours
PHOTO: ParisByFoot
In 1887 a French Bridge builder named Gustave Eiffel was one of 100 designers to submit what they felt should be the Monument that would stand on the Champ-de-Mars in central Paris. The monument would be built to honor the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution and of all 100 contestants Gustave design of open lattice work was chosen. Many thought that the 1000 foot tower would be very unstable and would be an eyesore to the Paris skyline. But on this day in 1889 when Gustave, The Prime Minister, a handful of other high ranking officials as well as around 200 construction workers stand by as the Eiffel Tower is dedicated and opened for the first time. It was the tallest man made structure until 1930 when the Chrysler Building was completed but still remains to be one of the most Iconic and recognizable Structures in the world
3. 1999: The Matrix was released
PHOTO: Scoopnest
PHOTO: Wired
On this day back in 1999 the blockbuster movie “The Matrix” was released by the Wachowski bothers , Andy and Larry. This was the second film the very talented brothers had released, the first being “Bound” which was a fairly low budget thriller about lesbians stealing from mob and it became a cult classic. But it was just a drop in the bucket compared to the success they would have from the Matrix movies. Just as the computer age was really getting into its stride these brothers come out with this off the wall movie regarding a computer matrix that has created any and everything that we see. To try and explain anymore would just make me seem crazy. If you haven’t seen it, please do yourself a favor and watch all three. The Matrix was shot for around $70 million but made over $470 million worldwide once all was done. The Wachowski brothers had always planned on the Matrix bring a trilogy so they shot back to back sequels in Australia and released them 6 months apart in 2003. including the sales of the video game, Enter The Matrix, the Time Warner Company has made over $1 billion off the Franchise. The only Question left is do you take the Blue Pill or the Red Pill?