The Musicals That Aren't Musicals Quiz

Answer: Evita

"Evita" is a musical collaboration by the masters Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It follows the life of the illegitimate 15 year old Eva Duarte, who is living in obscurity and poverty, and schemes her way into the big city where she slowly works her way up the ladder to fortune and fame - culminating in her marriage to Juan Peron and their historic rise to the president's palace.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the chance to do all the things she dreamed of, as she died at the young age of 33 from advanced cervical cancer.

The musical was released as a concept album in 1976 before its theatrical release 2 years later in the West End and on Broadway a year after that. The show won the Laurence Olivier Award and the Tony for best musical - the first British show to do so. It has had many revivals around the world since this time.

A film adaption starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathon Price was released in 1996. It had mixed reviews, but did win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Madonna received a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by ladymacb29 in the People category.

Answer: Moulin Rouge

"Moulin Rouge" is a Baz Luhrmann 2010 movie written in the style of a romantic jukebox musical. Lurmann's inspiration came from a mixture of Puccini's opera "La Boheme" and the Bollywood musical format.

The movie is a love story between Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young English poet, and Satine (Nicole Kidman), a cabaret actress/courtesan at the Moulin Rouge in Paris at the turn of the 20th century.

The movie was a critical and commercial success, leading to a theatrical musical premiering in 2018.

"The Windmills of Your Mind" is a 1968 song that was written for "The Thomas Crown Affair" by French composer Michel Legrand, with English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It won the Academy Award that year for Best Original Song.

The Connection - Moulin Rouge is French for Red Windmill.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by oscarguy in the Music category.

Answer: City of Angels

"City of Angels" is another satirical musical. Based on a book by Larry Gelbart, music and lyrics by Cy Coleman and David Zippeli, it is set in 1940s Hollywood and is a production with two different stories.

In "real life" it is a story of Stine, a novelist who is creating a stage play from his latest work, and follows his life at this time. These scenes are performed in full-coloured costumes and stage design.

The other story is showing the world that he is writing about in the film, and these scenes are shown in black and white. Most actors play double roles and appear in both stories.

Released on Broadway at the end of 1989, it only ran for 13 months. It fared even worse in England, where it was released in 1993 and closed prematurely after only 4 months.

A quiz using Los Angeles in the title was chosen as the quiz as its official name is the City of Los Angeles which, of course, in Spanish is the City of Angels.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by Verne47 in the Geography category.

Answer: Xanadu

"Xanadu" began as a 1980 film starring Olivia Newton-John straight off the heels of the success of "Grease". The story line depicted one of the mythological Greek muses coming to life and inspiring a young man to build his dream, which just happened to be a nightclub on roller skates. Not surprisingly, the film was a flop but somehow managed to become a cult classic over time.

The soundtrack, however, with music from Cliff Richards, The Tubes and the Electric Light Orchestra, was a massive success worldwide and even went double platinum in the US.

The show was developed into a stage musical in 2007 and became a huge hit due to its absolute parody of the film itself.

The name of the nightclub and the movie/musical came from the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem:

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea."

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by tjoebigham in the Literature category.

Answer: Wicked

"Wicked" is based on a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire ,"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West", which itself was inspired by the 1900 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. The music and lyrics were by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. It is mostly a prequel to Baum's books about Oz, but also contains material contemporary to and sequential to "The Wizard of Oz" musical.

The story actually introduces us to three girls who will become the witches of Oz.
Elphaba is the green elder (believed) daughter of the governor of Munchkinland. She is smart and compassionate, but ends up becoming the Wicked Witch of the West.
Nessarose is her younger sister who is in a wheelchair. Portrayed as a 'tragically beautiful girl', her unrequited love for a munchkin leads to her becoming the Wicked Witch of the East.
Galinda, the beautiful, empty headed, blond, popular girl who thinks she has everything eventually becomes Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

The musical, though extremely comical in parts, follows strong ethical themes of good and evil, what they really mean and how circumstances, misunderstanding and different viewpoints can shape the future.

There is, of course, the love interest, the villain and villainness, talking animals and much more, but basically it is a story of two strong women, learning to accept and like who they are and the friendship they form, the betrayals they both commit and the reconciliation of two imperfect people who understand each other.

The original production was in 2003 and it has had too many productions, records, award accolades and broken box office records to even try to mention.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by tombstonechica in the People category.

Answer: The Lion King

"The Lion King" began life as a Disney animated musical in 1994. Tim Rice and Elton John provided the musical score and wrote five original songs for it.

As many people are aware, it is inspired by Shakespeare's "Hamlet", but it is also said to have been influenced by both the movie "Bambi" and the Bible stories of Joseph and Moses.

The musical theatrical premiere was on Broadway in 1997 and then 1999 in the West End. As of 2023 (and not counting COVID shutdowns) they are both still running uninterrupted in both places.

As for Richard I - he was a Plantagenet King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. Famous for his courage, particularly in the Crusades, he is known as 'Richard the Lionheart'.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by tripeuro in the People category.

Answer: The Book of Mormon

"The Book of Mormon" is a 2011 musical comedy by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Stone himself referred to the show as "an atheist's love letter to religion".

From this you may have gathered that it is satirical in nature and portrays all religions as being out of touch with reality and the world as it is - although it does acknowledge that it can do enormous good in the process.

The duality of faith and doubt is woven throughout the story line that follows two Mormon missionaries as they try to preach and convert the locals in a remote village in Uganda, who have much larger problems to deal with and aren't interested in the missionaries' idea of religion.

The chosen quiz, "Is there Any Prophet in It?", is about early Biblical prophets, not explicitly the Prophets of the Mormon Church.

This question was inspired by the title of a team quiz by The Bible Brigade in the Religion category.

Answer: The Boy From Oz

"The Boy From Oz" is a 1998 Australian musical about singer/songwriter Peter Allen, compiled from his songs. Stephen MacLean wrote an autobiography after Allen's death which was then used as a basis for a documentary which, in turn, was used as the basis for the musical.

The show ran for 2 years in Australia. Its Broadway premiere was not until 2003, when Hugh Jackman played the part of Allen.

The musical follows the life of the young Australian singer/songwriter from his beginnings in a small Australian town, through performing with Judy Garland, his marriage to Liza Minnelli and to finally meeting the love of his life, model Gregory Connell. The couple stayed together for 11 years until Connell's death from an AIDS related illness. Allen succumbed to the same 8 years later, becoming the first well-known Australian to die from the disease.

Actor High Jackman is also a 'boy from Oz', eligible both from his birth in Sydney in 1968 and his portrayal of Peter Allen in the American production of the musical, for which he won both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by wenray in the Movies category.

Answer: Chess

"Chess" is a 1986 musical collaboration between Tim Rice and Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame. The original concept was fuelled by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crises. Rice discussed this idea in the 1970s with long-time partner Andrew Lloyd Webber, but by the time he was ready to begin work on it Lloyd Webber was busy with "Cats".

The 1972 'Match of the Century' - a chess match between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky - inspired Rice to write an allegorical tale instead, but work did not start on the project until 10 years later.

The literal story is simple: two men are playing a chess tournament, a woman who travels with the American falls in love with the Russian who, in turn, is planning to defect to the west. In reality the story is behind the scenes of the tournament itself - full of political intrigue and betrayal as the grand masters are moved around like pawns in their own game.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by Larry1624 in the People category.

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

"The Phantom of the Opera" was a 1986 theatrical release of Andrew Lloyd Webber's, with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. It is based on Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel of the same name.

"Phantom" tells the story of young ingénue Christine Daaé at the Palais Opera. Her childhood friend, Raoul the Vicomte de Chagny, has just become the patron of the opera house and the two fall in love - which is all very well except for the small matter of the Phantom who lives in the dungeons and who has taught Christine to sing and believes that she belongs to him.

At this time (September 2023) it is the longest running show on Broadway, having held its last performance in April 2023. It remains in a continuous run in the West End - both statistics are taking COVID restrictions into account.

This question was inspired by the title of a quiz by Bruce007 in the General Knowledge category.