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Quiz about Fascinating Moments in Musical Theatre History

Fascinating Moments in Musical Theatre History Quiz

There have been many moments in Musical Theatre History that have been full of coincidence and irony, or just plain extraordinary. Let's explore some of these fascinating facts that prove that fact can be stranger than fiction!

A multiple-choice quiz by Lost_Player_47. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
Lost_Player_47

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
296,419

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
447

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What was ironical about Beatrice Lillie being cast as Madame Arcati in the musical, "High Spirits"? Hint

She got the role only after Helen Hayes turned it down.

She and Noel Coward didn't get along

Noel Coward had written the part for her over twenty years ago.

She couldn't sing a note

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Question 2 of 10

2. Carol Channing understudied Eve Arden in the musical "Let's Face It!" in 1941. What else is true of the two performers? Hint

Eve Arden and Carol Channing co-starred on the TV Series "The Mothers-In-Law"

Eve Arden and Carol Channing are related.

Eve Arden replaced Carol Channing in the Chicago company of "Hello, Dolly!"

Eve Arden and Carol Channing both auditioned to play "Mame" on Broadway.

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Question 3 of 10

3. What was so unusual about Constance Towers being cast as Julie in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of "Show Boat"? Hint

She had been a child performer in the original production.

She had a dream she would get the part before she was cast.

She had already recorded an album of Jerome Kern's music.

She had auditioned for a different role.

4. Hollywood composer Roger Edens wrote two songs to bolster the quite weak song of the Ethel Merman musical "Happy Hunting" after it opened on Broadway. Why was his work initially credited solely to his friend Kay Thompson? Hint

He didn't want the IRS to know about the income he received for these songs.

He disliked Ethel Merman imensely.

The producers of "Happy Hunting" insisted.

Because he was under exclusive contract to MGM.

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Question 5 of 10

5. In 1954, Shirley MacLaine went on for the lead dancer Carol Haney in the musical "The Pajama Game." That evening, Hal Wallis, a Hollywood Producer was in the audience and signed her to a motion picture contract. What is so ironical about this incident? Hint

Shirley MacLaine was dating one of Hal Wallis' talent scouts at the time.

Hal Wallis and Shirley MacLaine went to High School together.

She was going to resign from the show that very night.

This was Shirley MacLaine's first Broadway show.

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Question 6 of 10

6. Two Off-Broadway musicals that were based on the same play opened within two weeks of each other in 1968. What play was it? Hint

'Tis a Pity She's a Whore

Love's Labour's Lost

Twelfth Night

School For Scandal

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Question 7 of 10

7. Believe it or not, Mary Martin was considered for which role? Hint

Amalia in "She Loves Me"

Sally Bowles in "Cabaret"

Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl"

Aldonza in "Man of La Mancha"

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which Broadway songwriting team had fathers with the same first name, wives with the same first name, and went to the same University? Hint

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein

Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe

Lee Adams and Charles Srouse

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Question 9 of 10

9. The part of "Yente, the Matchmaker" got smaller and smaller during the tryout period of "Fiddler on the Roof" because of what reason? Hint

The actress in the role became ill

The show was running too long

Jerome Robbins, the director, didn't care for the performance of the actress in the role

Zero Mostel insisted

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Question 10 of 10

10. "Say, Darling" was a musical about which of the following? Hint

The 1919 Actor's Equity Strike

Strippers

Broadway Ushers

The creation of the musical "The Pajama Game"

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was ironical about Beatrice Lillie being cast as Madame Arcati in the musical, "High Spirits"?

Answer: Noel Coward had written the part for her over twenty years ago.

Noel Coward wrote the comedy "Blithe Spirit" in 1941 and wrote the part of the zany medium Madame Arcati for Beatrice Lillie. However, Miss Lillie was unavailable to play the role at the time. She finally got to essay the role in the play's musical version, "High Spirits," in 1964.

2. Carol Channing understudied Eve Arden in the musical "Let's Face It!" in 1941. What else is true of the two performers?

Answer: Eve Arden replaced Carol Channing in the Chicago company of "Hello, Dolly!"

In 1967, Eve Arden replaced Carol Channing in the Chicago company of "Hello, Dolly!" so Miss Channing could go to Hollywood and do the film "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

3. What was so unusual about Constance Towers being cast as Julie in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of "Show Boat"?

Answer: She had auditioned for a different role.

Constance Towers had originally auditioned for Magnolia for the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of "Show Boat."

Somebody suggested putting a dark wig on her, and having her audition for Julie, and she was cast in that role. Barbara Cook was cast as Magnolia in that production.

Answer: Because he was under exclusive contract to MGM.

At that time, Roger Edens was under a very tight exclusive contract to MGM and couldn't work elsewhere, so his friend Kay Thompson took the credit for these two songs.

During that same period, Mr. Edens also worked on the "Born in a Trunk" number for the Judy Garland movie "A Star is Born." Since this was a Warner Brothers production, he likewise received no credit.

Mr. Edens was actually a close friend of Ethel Merman and had accompanied her when she sang at nightclubs as far back as the early 1930s.

Answer: She was going to resign from the show that very night.

The VERY NIGHT Miss MacLaine went on for Miss Haney, she went to the theatre with the intent to resign from "The Pajama Game" Company. (She had an offer to understudy Gwen Verdon, the lead dancer in the Broadway musical "Can-Can.")

"The Pajama Game" was her second Broadway musical; "Me and Juliet" was her first.

6. Two Off-Broadway musicals that were based on the same play opened within two weeks of each other in 1968. What play was it?

Answer: Twelfth Night

"Love and Let Love," a musical version of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," opened on January 3, 1968 and was gone within two weeks.

The far more successful "Your Own Thing" used the same source, opened ten days later and ran for nearly 1,000 performances.

There was a musical version of "School For Scandal" entitled "All in Love" which had a brief run Off-Broadway in 1961.

7. Believe it or not, Mary Martin was considered for which role?

Answer: Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl"

Mary Martin was one of the first to be considered to play Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl." Her director from "The Sound of Music," Vincent J. Donohue, was even set to direct. However, the creative term determined that although Miss Martin was a wonderful performer, she certainly wasn't the type to play a Yiddish Comedienne.

Other performers considered before Barbra Streisand was signed include Carol Burnett, Anne Bancroft, and Edie Gorme.

8. Which Broadway songwriting team had fathers with the same first name, wives with the same first name, and went to the same University?

Answer: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein both had fathers named William, wives named Dorothy, and attended Columbia University. Their music publishing company was called Williamson Music.

9. The part of "Yente, the Matchmaker" got smaller and smaller during the tryout period of "Fiddler on the Roof" because of what reason?

Answer: Jerome Robbins, the director, didn't care for the performance of the actress in the role

Jerome Robbins regretted casting Beatrice Arthur as Yente. He found her appearance and mannerisms "too American" for a native of Anatevka, so he cut down the part.

Interestingly enough, when the show was revived in 2004, the role of Yente was expanded and a new song just for her was inserted. Go figure!

10. "Say, Darling" was a musical about which of the following?

Answer: The creation of the musical "The Pajama Game"

Richard Bissell, who wrote the novel "7 1/2 Cents" which was the basis for the musical "The Pajama Game," wrote a novel titled "Say, Darling," which was about is experiences in working on "The Pajama Game."

"Say, Darling" was also turned into a musical--so Broadway audiences could view "Say, Darling," a musical about the making of the musical "The Pajama Game." (It was reported that Robert Morse played a young producer in "Say, Darling" who was just like Harold Prince--a young producer involved with "The Pajama Game."

Well, that's it for fascinating moments in Musical Theatre History! I hope you enjoyed the quiz--please take a moment to rate it! :-)

Source: Author Lost_Player_47

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