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Quiz about Recalling History on Stage
Quiz about Recalling History on Stage

Recalling History on Stage Trivia Quiz


How much do you know about these plays based on historical events and people?

A multiple-choice quiz by FatherSteve. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
FatherSteve
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
367,392
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
549
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Quizaddict1 (8/10), Guest 166 (7/10), Guest 212 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee wrote what play about "the Scopes Monkey Trial"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Arthur Miller, who was once married to Marilyn Monroe, wrote what play about the Salem Witch trials? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. "Murder in the Cathedral" is a 1935 play about the murder (martyrdom?) of Thomas Becket of Canterbury written by whom? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. James Goldman's play "The Lion in Winter" (1966) is about what historic couple? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What was the title of American dramatist Doug Wright's play about the last years of the Marquis de Sade, first produced in the late 1990s? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. A 1959 play, "The Gang's All Here" depicts the election of a US President whose incompetence and corruption lead to his downfall. Who wrote this play? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Irish playwright Seán O'Casey wrote three plays known as "The Dublin Trilogy". Which one was about the Easter Rising of April, 1916? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Robert Bolt's play about the English court (which became a successful motion picture), "A Man for All Seasons" portrays what historical figure? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The Broadway musical, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," contains a scene about which nautical tragedy? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Maxwell Anderson's play "Anne of the Thousand Days" (which was made into a movie of the same name) was about whom? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 14 2024 : Quizaddict1: 8/10
Oct 09 2024 : Guest 166: 7/10
Oct 05 2024 : Guest 212: 7/10
Sep 30 2024 : Guest 73: 0/10
Sep 07 2024 : griller: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee wrote what play about "the Scopes Monkey Trial"?

Answer: Inherit the Wind

Lawrence and Lee specialized in writing historical drama, and taught the subject to future playwrights. "Inherit the Wind" was based on the 1925 trial of The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. A 1960 movie followed the 1955 stage play. The title of both refers to Proverbs 11:29 which says, "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind."
2. Arthur Miller, who was once married to Marilyn Monroe, wrote what play about the Salem Witch trials?

Answer: The Crucible

Miller's "The Crucible" was produced in 1953, adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre for a French movie version in 1957, adapted by Robert Ward for an opera in 1961, and adapted by Miller himself for an American movie version in 1996. The direct historical referents of the play were the trials for witchcraft in Massachusetts Bay in the 1690s, but the allegorical referents were what Miller considered witch-hunting by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.
3. "Murder in the Cathedral" is a 1935 play about the murder (martyrdom?) of Thomas Becket of Canterbury written by whom?

Answer: T.S. Eliot

Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral" is based on the 1170 killing of the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket. The play was commissioned by George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester. The first performance was staged in the Chapter House of Canterbury Cathedral.

While the play is unquestionably grounded in the death of the archbishop, Eliot was also deeply concerned about the rise of European fascism and its threat to individual liberties.
4. James Goldman's play "The Lion in Winter" (1966) is about what historic couple?

Answer: Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine

"The Lion in Winter" depicts how the family -- Henry, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their children -- spent Christmas of 1183. The play was first produced in 1966, the film adaptation starring Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn in 1968 and a made-for-TV movie in 2003.
5. What was the title of American dramatist Doug Wright's play about the last years of the Marquis de Sade, first produced in the late 1990s?

Answer: Quills

Doug Wright (b. 1962) wrote "Quills", which was staged in Washington, DC, in 1995. The play won an Obie. He then adapted it for the screen; Philip Kaufman directed "Quills" in 2000. The film was nominated for numerous awards but was criticized by historians as taking too many liberties with known facts about de Sade's confinement at the Charenton insane asylum.
6. A 1959 play, "The Gang's All Here" depicts the election of a US President whose incompetence and corruption lead to his downfall. Who wrote this play?

Answer: Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Although the authors denied that they were telling the story of President Warren G. Harding and the Teapot Dome Scandal, it is impossible to fail to recognize Harding's administration, his affair with Nan Britton, and his corrupt Secretary of the Interior and Attorney General in this play.

The team were responsible for "Inherit the Wind", "Auntie Mame", "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail", and "First Monday in October".
7. Irish playwright Seán O'Casey wrote three plays known as "The Dublin Trilogy". Which one was about the Easter Rising of April, 1916?

Answer: The Plough and the Stars

O'Casey's "The Plough and the Stars" opened in 1926 on the stage of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The title of the play refers to the Starry Plough flag or banner which was flown by the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter uprising. The star pattern in Ursa Major shown on the flag is called the Big Dipper in North America and The Plough in Ireland and England.
8. Robert Bolt's play about the English court (which became a successful motion picture), "A Man for All Seasons" portrays what historical figure?

Answer: Sir Thomas More

Bolt's 1960 play was preceded by a 1954 radio play, and by a shorter 60-minute TV version in 1956. The play is based on the life of Thomas More, a devout Roman Catholic who opposed King Henry VIII's divorce of his wife Catherine of Aragon. In Bolt's version, More is a noble and innocent man who was betrayed at trial and executed unjustly.
9. The Broadway musical, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," contains a scene about which nautical tragedy?

Answer: the sinking of the RMS Titanic by an iceberg

Margaret Brown (1867-1932) was a rich American from Denver who survived the sinking of the Titanic on which she was a first-class passenger. She gained the nickname "the unsinkable Molly Brown" from her work in rescuing other passengers, her taking an oar in Lifeboat number 6, and her encouraging the officer in charge of the boat to pull more passengers out of the water.

In addition to the 1960 Broadway musical, the play was adapted to film in 1964, starring Debbie Reynolds.
10. Maxwell Anderson's play "Anne of the Thousand Days" (which was made into a movie of the same name) was about whom?

Answer: Anne Boleyn, queen

Maxwell Alexander's 1948 play about Anne Boleyn was written partly in blank verse, only some of which was preserved when Hal B. Wallis adapted the play to film in 1969. The screen version starred Richard Burton as King Henry VIII, Anthony Quayle as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Irene Papas as Queen Catherine of Aragon and Genevičve Bujold as Anne Boleyn.
Source: Author FatherSteve

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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