Songs from Musicals: The Classics Quiz

Answer: The Sound of Music

The song is "Something Good", and it was not actually a part of the original stage version of the musical. However, when adapting the musical to film in 1965, "Something Good" replaced the song "An Ordinary Couple" and has been part of the musical ever since.

Answer: Sweet Charity

This particular lyric comes from the song "The Rhythm of Life". This song and other songs from "Sweet Charity" have inspired many other songs and music videos. The song "Talk to Daddy" from Apple TV's show "Schmigadoon" draws very heavily on "The Rhythm of Life".

Answer: West Side Story

"West Side Story" is a 20th century adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet", with the two star-crossed protagonists coming from different gangs in Manhattan. The song that this lyric comes from, called "Tonight", mimics the original work's balcony scene where Romeo calls out to Juliet and they profess their love.

Answer: Hello, Dolly

This song, "Elegance", comes along in the second act of "Hello, Dolly". In it, two store clerks, Cornelius and Barnaby, are pretending to be rich and elegant in order to impress the ladies, Irene and Minnie. Because the men don't have enough money for a carriage, they tell the ladies that walking means they have elegance, hence the name of the song.

Answer: Guys and Dolls

This line comes from "I'll Know", where two of the protagonists, Sarah and Sky, discuss how they'll know that someone is the love of their life. Sky is ultimately trying to convince Sarah to go on a date with him, since he's entered into a bet that involves taking her to dinner in Cuba. Sarah is not initially receptive; the song ends with Sky kissing Sarah and Sarah slapping Sky in return.

Answer: A Chorus Line

This musical is about young men and women auditioning to be a part of a Broadway chorus line. Throughout the production, the director asks probing personal questions. When he comes to Sheila, she talks about dancing as an escape from troubles at home. Two other girls join her in the song "At the Ballet", which is where this lyric shows up.

Answer: Company

Company features main character Robert ("Bobby") who is a single man with lots of married friends. In the song "Side by Side by Side", he seems content with this fate, happily singing that "two is dreary, three is company safe and cheery". However, in the follow-up song "What Would We Do Without You?", which is where this lyric takes place, we see a different side of the story as the married couples won't leave him alone and insist that they can't function without him.

Answer: The Music Man

In this song, "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little", the ladies of River City, Iowa are warning the protagonist about the town librarian, Marian. In this lyric, they talk about how she supposedly seduced a local rich man. They explain that he left all of the library books to her in his will, which is evidence of her immoral character in their eyes.

Answer: Kiss Me, Kate

The song in question, "Always True to You (in My Fashion)" is actually based on a poem written by Ernest Dowson. Both the song and the poem contain a similar theme - the narrator/singer proclaims their love and faithfulness to their partner "in their way".

In the case of "Kiss Me, Kate", this means the character Lois exchanges sexual favors for gifts from wealthy, older men despite being true to her boyfriend Bill.

Answer: Oliver!

This lyric comes from the song "Oom-Pah-Pah". In the stage version, the song is not relevant to the overall plot. However, in the film, they change where the song occurs in the musical to give it storyline significance. This version shows the character Nancy deliberately starting up the song to create a distraction so she can help the main character, Oliver.