November 20, 1966: The musical Cabaret premieres, at the Broadhurst Theatre in Manhattan. It is based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, which was based on Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin.
The book is written by Joe Masteroff, the music by John Kander, and the lyrics by Fred Ebb. It's set in 1930 Berlin, as the Weimar Republic is tottering, and the Nazis are on the rise. Jill Haworth stars as singer Sally Bowles, Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Club where she performs, Bert Convy as Clifford Bradshaw, and Fräulein Schneider is played by Lotte Lenya, who had fled the Nazis with her then-husband, Kurt Weill. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
The story was filmed in 1972. Grey reprised his role, Sally was switched from British to American and played by Liza Minnelli, Fräulein Schneider was played by Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel, and Clifford was renamed Brian Roberts, made British instead of American, and played by Michael York.
The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, and won 8, including Best Actress for Minnelli, Best Supporting Actor for Grey, and Best Director for Bob Fosse -- but not Best Picture, which went to a very different kind of period piece, The Godfather.
It's worth noting that the musical premiered only 21 years, and the film 27 years, after the end of World War II. The men who fought in it, and the women who lost them at least temporarily, were now in middle age, and were not yet old. Nor were many of the people who suffered living under Nazi rule. So this story, based on real events, was still fresh. For that reason, this was one of the most affecting musicals in Broadway history.
The Broadhurst Theatre still stands, at 235 West 44th Street. Among the other shows to have their debuts there have been The Petrified Forest (1935, launching Humphrey Bogart to stardom), The Streets of Paris (1939, introducing Carmen Miranda to America), Keep Off the Grass (1940, starring Jimmy Durante and, in his Broadway debut, Jackie Gleason), Auntie Mame (1956), The World of Suzie Wong (1958, starring France Nuyen and William Shatner, 10 years before they shared a Star Trek episode together), Fiorello! (1959, with Tom Bosley playing Mayor La Guardia), Oh, What a Lovely War! (1964), Play It Again, Sam (1969, written by and starring Woody Allen, 3 years before his film version), The Sunshine Boys (1972), Dancin' (1978), Amadeus (1980), The Tap Dance Kid (1983, making a star of Alfonso Ribeiro), and Broadway Bound (1986). It is currently showing Jagged Little Pill, based on the music of Alanis Morissette.
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November 20, 1966 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played that day:
* The New York Giants lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 27-16 at Yankee Stadium. The Falcons were an expansion team, and this was the 1st game they ever won.
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-7 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Cleveland Browns beat the Washington Redskins, 14-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Colts, 20-14 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Green Bay Packers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, 13-6 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings, 21-6 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
* And the Philadelphia Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers, 35-34 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
In the American Football League:
* The New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins, 30-13. The Jets, not yet a good team but with a young Joe Namath at quarterback, and playing a 1st-year expansion team, nearly got a sellout: 58,664 fans came out to Shea Stadium. But the Giants, playing another 1st-year expansion team and on the way to their worst season ever, 1-12-1, still got more fans: 62,746.
* The Boston Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs played to a tie, 27-27 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* The Buffalo Bills beat the Houston Oilers, 42-20 at Rice Stadium in Houston.
* The Oakland Raiders beat the Denver Broncos, 17-3 at Bears Stadium in Denver. (It was renamed Mile High Stadium in 1968.)
* Since the AFL had an odd number of teams, each week, there was a team that had a bye, and, this time, it was the San Diego Chargers.
There was 1 NBA game played that day: The Cincinnati Royals beat the Baltimore Bullets, 125-123 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 40 for the Royals, and Don Ohl scored 39 for the Bullets.
And the entire NHL, all of the "Original Six," was in action. The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the old Madison Square Garden. The Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 at the Boston Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a tie, 2-2 at the Chicago Stadium.