Top Ten 'W'onderful Broadway Musicals Quiz

Answer: The Wizard of Oz

"The Wizard Of Oz" was a three-act musical. It opened in the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on January 20, 1903, and ran for 293 performances before closing in October. The show starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale and Fred A. Stone as The Scarecrow.

This version, which L. Frank Baum himself wrote the lyrics for, came out three years after he published the book with the slightly different title of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The music was composed mainly by Paul Tietjens with help from A. Baldwin Sloane. L. Frank Baum also wrote the libretto.

Answer: Ohio

"Wonderful Town" first opened on Broadway in the Winter Garden Theatre on February 25, 1953. It ran for 559 performances. Rosalind Russell played the role of Ruth Sherwood, and Edith Adams played Eileen, Ruth's sister. The musical was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comdon. It takes place in Greenwich Village, New York City, USA in the 1930s.

In act one, the sisters lament moving in a song called "Ohio" where they ask, "Why oh why oh, why oh, why'd we ever leave Ohio?" The plot revolves around the women having come to NYC in hopes of finding a career, romance, and simply following their dreams.

The show won several Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Actress for Rosalind Russell. In 1958, she reprised her role in the movie adaptation.

Answer: The Wiz

"The Wiz" opened on Broadway on January 5, 1975, in the Majestic Theatre and ran for 1,672 performances. Stephanie Mills played Dorothy in the original cast. The show is an African-American version of "The Wizard of Oz" starting in Harlem, NY instead of Kansas.

"Ease on Down the Road" is what they sing when Dorothy and The Scarecrow (originally played by Hinton Battle) start off to see The Wiz in the first act.

In the second act, first The Wiz (originally played by Andre De Shields) sings "Believe in Yourself" and then Glinda (originally played by Dee Dee Bridgewater) does so, to encourage Dorothy not to give up.

Answer: Andrew Lloyd Webber

"Whistle Down the Wind" opened on September 9, 2007 in Houston, TX, and closed February 17, 2008 in Norfolk, VA. It was a touring show. The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the lyrics were done by Jim Steinman. The show takes place in Louisiana in 1959. The story involves a girl named Swallow (originally played by Andrea Ross) who is grieving the loss of her mother. She meets a mysterious man that she believes is Jesus. In the small town, she is in need of a miracle, so she protects him from the adults who are searching for an escaped convict.

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber was born on March 22, 1948, in London England. His first musical was "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in 1968. Before COVID his musicals ran nonstop on Broadway for 41 years; on the West End in London, England, they ran consistently for 48 years. He has the honor of being an EGOT (winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), as well as having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992.

The image is of cats, because the answer is Andrew Lloyd Webber, and one of his best-known musicals was "Cats."

Answer: Baby John

"West Side Story" opened on Broadway on September 26, 1957 and ran for 732 performances. In the score's opening number, called "Prologue", the Jets are walking around their territory, snapping their fingers. They come upon members of the Sharks, a gang of Puerto Ricans, who are trying to steal their turf.

A-Rab (originally played by Tony Mordente) and Baby John (David Winters) are separated from the other Jets and caught by some Sharks. In some great ballet dance moves, A-Rab breaks free, but they pin Baby John down and slice his ear with a knife.

Answer: Waitress

"Waitress" originally opened on Broadway on April 24, 2016, and ran for 1,544 performances. It was nominated for a Tony Award, but lost to "Hamilton".

The musical is about a pie chef named Jenna (originally played by Jessie Mueller). She is married to Earl (originally played by Nick Cordero) who is abusive. When she learns she is pregnant, she wants to escape with the baby to a better life and enters a pie contest.

The show was also nominated for Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Mueller), and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Fitzgerald who played Ogie. None of the nominees won awards.

Answer: False

"The Wedding Singer" opened on Broadway on April 27, 2006, and ran for 285 performances. The stage musical was based on the movie in which Adam Sandler played Robbie Hart. However, in the Broadway show, Robbie was originally played by Stephen Lynch, who made his Broadway debut in that role.

Adam Sandler did, however, contribute to the score of the musical. He worked with Tim Herlihy to write the songs "Someone Kill Me" and "Grow Old With You".

Robbie Hart was left at the altar and was heartbroken. To make matters worse, he has a job as a wedding singer.

The image crosses out the person singing showing that it is false that Adam Sandler was the one playing the role on Broadway.

Answer: Queen

Queen wrote most of the music and lyrics for "We Will Rock You". A jukebox musical is a musical where the music is not specifically written for a Broadway show. Instead, it is taken from the works produced by a musical group, and then the story is created around the music of that group. Examples include "Mamma Mia" and "Get On Your Feet".

"We Will Rock You" is a touring musical, and some of the lines in the show change based on the location of the show.

The song "Under Pressure" also had David Bowie contributing to it, as he originally helped write the song with Queen, and performed it with them back in 1981.

Answer: White Christmas

"White Christmas" opened on Broadway on November 23, 2008, and ran for 53 performances. Irving Berlin never saw his musical make it to the stage as he passed away in 1989. In the previews for the show, they had between 78-98% capacity, so the show did pretty well, but because it is so Christmas-orientated it seems to have only run around Christmas time, as the closing date was in January. The same was true when the revival came in 2009, it also ran November-January.

The original production was nominated for two Tony Awards (Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations) although it did not win either.

Answer: Wicked

"Wicked" was written by Stephen Stephen Schwartz. It opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003. Originally Idina Menzel played Elphaba. She won a Tony Award that year for Best Actress in a Musical. The show itself was nominated but lost to "Avenue Q".

The show looks at the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda (originally played by Kristin Chenoweth). Elphaba would eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West.