Rock 'n' Roll Jukebox Musicals Quiz

Answer: Head Over Heels

The plot is loosely based on a 16th century prose pastoral romance by Sir Philip Sidney called "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia." The musical opened on Broadway on July 26, 2018, at the Hudson Theatre and closed January 6, 2019. Some of the more well known hit singles by the Go-Gos that were used in this musical included: "We Got the Beat", "Vacation", "Our Lips Are Sealed", and of course "Head Over Heals." "Mad about You", and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" are also in the show--those two songs were from Belinda Carlisle's solo career.

Answer: Escape to Margaritaville

Before landing on Broadway, Jimmy Buffett's jukebox musical began life at The La Jolla Playhouse in California, and traveled to New Orleans, then Houston, and then Chicago. Its Broadway home was Marquis Theatre where it opened on February 16, 2018 and closed 4 and half months later on July 1st. Hit songs from Jimmy Buffett's career included "Why Don't We Get Drunk", "Son of a Son of a Sailor", "Volcano", "Cheeseburger in Paradise", "Come Monday" and "Margaritaville."

Answer: Girl From the North Country

This musical is performed around the music of Bob Dylan. The book for this musical was written by the Irish playwright Conor McPherson, who had written the successful play "The Weir" which played on Broadway in 1999. The setting for this musical is the Great Depression in Duluth, Minnesota, next to Lake Superior.

Some of the Dylan songs include "I Want You", "Like A Rolling Stone", "Hurricane", and "Forever Young".

Answer: Bat Out of Hell

The Jim Steinem-written songs here come from the Meatloaf-recorded "Bat Out of Hell" album trilogy and the story takes place in a sort of dystopian Manhattan landscape--one location for instance is an abandoned subway tunnel nearby the 81st Street-Museum of Natural History MTA station. Songs you'll recognize and rock out to include "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", "Bat Out of Hell", "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)", and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." Sadly, Meatloaf does not reprise his role from the musical "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Answer: Jagged Little Pill

Slated for Broadway this Fall, "Jagged Little Pill's" book is written by the Academy Award winning screenwriter Diablo Cody who wrote the film "Juno." Hopes are high for this jukebox Broadway musical because the musical source material was a juggernaut; in 1995 the Alanis Morissette album received nine Grammy Nominations, winning five of them including Album of the Year.

Some of the non-Jagged Little Pill hits by Morissette that will be co-opted for this include "Uninvited" and the fantastic "Thank U." But you'll find that album's hits "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "Head Over Feet", "You Learn" and "You Oughta Know."

Answer: Red Roses, Green Gold

This jukebox musical set in 1920s Cumberland, Maryland and "tells the fantastical and comedic tale of Jackson Jones and his family of swindlers as they gamble their way to love and riches." "Red Roses, Green Gold" opened October 29, 2017 at the Minetta Lane Theater in New York's Greenwich Village, and its final performance was February 18, 2018.

It featured the music of Jerry Garcia and the founding members of The Grateful Dead including Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir and Greg Anton.

Answer: Movin' Out

Broadway legend Twyla Tharp was at the helm of Billy Joel's foray onto the Great White Way which no doubted helped with its success. Different characters have their own personal signature songs, i.e. Brenda and Eddie from the lyrics of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" are here in the sow as are these characters culled from Billy's songs: James from "James", Judy from "Why Judy Why, and Tony from "Movin' Out".

The show had a healthy three-year run on Broadway. The Piano Man's classic songs "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", "The Longest Time", "Uptown Girl", the beautiful "Summer, Highland Falls", "We Didn't Start the Fire", "She's Got a Way", "The Stranger", "Big Shot", "Captain Jack", "An Innocent Man", "Pressure", "Goodnight Saigon", "The River of Dreams", "Keeping the Faith", "Only the Good Die Young", the heart-breaking "I've Loved These Days" (it breaks my heart anyway), "New York State of Mind", and of course "The Piano Man" all find their way into the event.

Answer: Xanadu

The 1980 film Xanadu, was a failure at the box office. The story was based on a 1947 Rita Hayworth film "Down to Earth" which in turn was a sequel to the 1941 film "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", which was based on the play "Heaven Can Wait" by Harry Segall.

In 2007, with music by ELO and Olivia Newton-John, Xanadu opened on that other land of fantasy Broadway and it played for more than 500 performances. Two classics from The Electric Light Orchestra "Strange Magic" and "Evil Woman," were written into the show. No doubt the inimitable ELO elevated this project a peg or two.

The show was nominated for Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book.

Answer: American Idiot

Johnny and Tunny are the troubled teens running away from their lives while Will and his girlfriend sort out their own lives. "American Idiot" by Green Day began its theatrical incarnation at the St. James Theatre on Broadway with an official opening on April 20, 2010.

It left almost a year later to the day, closing April 24, 2011. The show was directed by Michael Mayer who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2007 for "Spring Awakening." The sow was nominated for the Tony for Best Musical and it included all the songs from the Billie Jo Armstrong's Green Day album.

Answer: Jersey Boys

Talk about having a pro in your corner writing the book for your musical: Marshall Brickman. He won the 1977 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the Woody Allen film "Annie Hall". "Jersey Boys" by Franki Valli and The Four Seasons is divided up into four seasons or sections, each of them narrated by a member of the band. No Vivaldi here but darn it, just as good it's got classics such as "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Bye Bye Baby", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "C'mon Marianne", "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)", "Let's Hang On! (To What We've Got)", "My Eyes Adored You", "Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'bout Me)", "Rag Doll", "Sherry", "Stay", "Walk Like a Man", "Who Loves You", "Working My Way Back to You" and others. Great classic rock line-up.