One ALW at a Time: Part 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Love Never Dies

A sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera", "Love Never Dies" premiered in 2010. Andrew Lloyd Webber had been toying with the idea for much longer, however, and a draft version of the show's titular song (back then called "The Heart is Slow To Learn") was presented by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa on the occasion of Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday gala at the Royal Albert Hall. Webber then abandoned the idea for a while and used the melody in "The Beautiful Game" instead. The story is set on Coney Isle ten years after the events of "The Phantom of the Opera", and the Phantom is still yearning for Christine: "I'll always feel no more than halfway real / 'til I hear you sing once more."

Answer: The Beautiful Game/The Boys in the Photograph

"Our Kind of Love" was originally meant for a different production that wasn't realized at the time. It was only some years later that the sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera" finally became reality and the song became the titular "Love Never Dies". "Our Kind of Love" was not the first time that Webber reused or repurposed one of his own songs: the refrain from "Chanson d'Enfance" (from "Song and Dance") later resurfaced as "If Only" in "Whistle Down the Wind". "The Beautiful Game" is set in 1969 Northern Ireland, centered around a football team.

After a 2008 rewrite, the show was renamed "The Boys in the Photograph" and received a more uplifting ending than the original production.

Answer: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

The story of Joseph is told with tongue firmly in cheek and features ballads but also bona fide country, calypso, and rock'n'roll numbers. First performed as a school play in 1968 and extended into a West End production in 1973, "Joseph" (for short) is a perennial favorite and an ALW classic.

The current version is based on the 1991 revision, complete with the cast recording starring pop singer Jason Donovan. "Any Dream Will Do" is Joseph's first song. "Seven Fat Cows" is the "Song of the King", i.e. the pharaoh, asking Joseph to interpret said dream. And if the story of Joseph isn't sibling rivalry at its best, I don't know what is.

Answer: Aspects of Love

While not as famous as some of ALW's other works, "Aspects of Love" gave us the musical classic "Love Changes Everything" as well as the insanely difficult quartet "Falling", sung a cappella by four of the principal characters. It is based on a 1955 novel by English writer David Garnett.
"Parlez-vous Français" is the first meeting between main characters Alex and Rose, who is a theater star. "Anything But Lonely" is Rose's last song in the show.

Answer: Whistle Down the Wind

Even though Steinman is only credited with the lyrics of this musical gem, it is obvious that Lloyd Webber took a lot of inspiration from him. Songs like "Tyre Tracks and Broken Hearts" and especially "A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste" are clearly written in the operatic rock style Steinman was so famous for. The story is centered on the children in a small town in the southern U.S. who find an injured man in a barn who they believe is Jesus (he is really an escaped convict).

In one of the most touching scenes of the musical, the children present "Jesus" gifts and profess their love for him ("No Matter What") while an angry mob of townspeople sets out to find the convict.

A pop version of "No Matter What" was recorded by the Irish boy group Boyzone.

Answer: Evita

"Evita" tells the life story of former Argentinian First Lady Eva Perón, and the show has it all: the music, the poetry, the plot, the depth, the drama. With driving rhythms and haunting ballads, immortalized by the likes of Elaine Paige and Patti LuPone as well as Madonna in the highly acclaimed film version, the show rightfully won its composer an Oscar, two Tonys, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe over the years.
"Oh What A Circus" is the first solo number by the cynical narrator Che.

Answer: (Bad) Cinderella

"Cinderella" (produced on Broadway as "Bad Cinderella") is a modern take on the classic Cinderella story and features sweet ballads ("Unbreakable", "I Know I Have A Heart") as well as up-tempo numbers. The show stopper "The Vanquishing of the Three-Headed Sea Witch", performed by special guest star Adam Lambert, sadly only exists on the original cast CD but was omitted in later stage productions. Perhaps it was too Adam Lambert-y to have it performed by singers who were, well, not Adam Lambert? "Beauty Has A Price" is sung during Cinderella's makeover for the ball, and "Marry For Love" is the moral of it all as the hugely popular Prince Charming returns home with the love of his life - the Duc de Violette.

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

"The Phantom of the Opera" is based on Gaston Leroux's classic novel of the same name. A variation of the "Beauty and the Beast" theme, it tells the story of young Paris opera singer Christine Daaé and her enigmatic mentor, her "Angel of Music", the deformed musical genius known only as the "Phantom." It is easily one of the most beloved and successful ALW musicals with an instantly recognizable opening theme (arranged to resemble the organ the Phantom plays) and lots of unforgettable songs.

Answer: The Woman in White

A largely faithful adaptation of Wilkie Collins's novel of the same name with a few changes (such as the nature of Anne Catherick's secret), "The Woman in White" is musically very different from its predecessors ("The Beautiful Game" and "Whistle Down the Wind").

It tells the story of sisters Marian and Laura, young artist Walter Hartright, the colorful, animal-loving villain Count Fosco, and a mysterious woman with a secret. "You Can Get Away With Anything" is the show-stopping number by Count Fosco, sung to his (live) pet mice. Walter is originally hired as a drawing instructor for Marian and Laura, and secrets is what the entire plot hinges on.

Answer: Starlight Express

A Cinderella story, but with trains. A perennial favorite since its premiere in 1988 (1984 in England), "Starlight Express" holds the record in Germany as the longest-running musical in a single theater, the custom-built Starlight Express Theater in Bochum.
The trains hold a race to determine who's fastest. And while the carriages at first believe that you need "A Lotta Locomotion" to be cool, it turns out in the end that both favorites were too ambitious and now feel like they've had "One Rock 'N' Roll Too Many"