Name the Musical Trivia

1. When "Oklahoma!" opened on Broadway in March of 1943 it was the first musical written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Their play was based on another musical that had been seen on Broadway more than a decade prior. What play?

From Quiz Broadway Classics

Answer: "Green Grow the Lilacs"

"Green Grow the Lilacs" was featured on Broadway early in the year of 1931. It was written by Lynn Riggs who was an accomplished American author, poet, playwright and screen writer. His career ended prematurely when he died from complications of stomach cancer in 1954, at the age of 54. "Green Grow the Lilacs" was one of his most well known works and it certainly received more recognition after the success of "Oklahoma!". Much of its plot revolved around the male lead (a cowboy named Curly) who vied for the attention and affection of a local farm girl named Laurey. Curly needed fifty dollars to prove his worth for her - and, thus his struggles. Although "Green Grow the Lilacs" faded into almost non-existence, the original production of "Oklahoma!" was immediately very popular and considered widely successful. Well into the 21st century it remained a favored choice for many community theater productions.

From Quiz Musicals! Part 2

Answer: Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess was the only opera written by the Gershwin brothers and 'Summertime' is technically an aria. However, following its opening in 1935 the song was recorded by the great Billie Holiday, who cemented this as one of the great jazz standards.

From Quiz One Word Musicals

Answer: Grease

"Grease" first opened on Broadway on February 14th, 1972. Barry Bostwick played Danny Zuko, and Carol Demas played Sandy Dumbrowski. Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey wrote the music and lyrics. The show opens with the school's "Alma Mater", followed by the "Alma Mater Parody". It then goes back in time to 1959. Danny Zuko is the leader of the Burger Palace Boys. Over the summer, he met and had a romantic relationship with Sandy Dumbrowski. He believed she had gone back to Australia. There was a change of plans, and she is also at Rydell High. Sandy has become friends with Frenchy, one of the Pink Ladies. The girls learn that Sandy dated Danny over the summer. They bring her over to see Danny, but Danny is not nice to her, because he wants to look cool in front of his friends. Meanwhile Rizzo, the leader of the Pink Ladies, does not particularly care for Sandy because she thinks she's too pure. Rizzo has problems of her own; she is dating Kenickie, one of the Burger Palace Boys, and their relationship is often rocky. "Grease" initially ran for 3,388 performances, closing on April 13, 1980.

From Quiz A Night at the Theater

Answer: Wicked

Open since fall of 2003, "Wicked" tells the story of The Wizard of Oz from the point of view of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. The musical paints Elphaba in a sympathetic light, showing her school days and her friendship with good witch Glinda, as well as showing her eventual turn to "evil". Well over a decade since it originally opened, the show remains popular, with songs like "Defying Gravity" and "Popular", well known among theater lovers.

From Quiz Not Every Musical Can Be "Cats"

Answer: The Goodbye Girl

"The Goodbye Girl" opened on March 4, 1993 and closed after 188 performances. It starred Bernadette Peters as Paula and Martin Short as Elliot. The book was by Neil Simon, the music by Marvin Hamlisch, and the lyrics by David Zippel.

From Quiz Name That Musical!

Answer: Les Miserables

My favorite musical. The multi-story tale with themes of love, the difference between right and wrong, forgiveness, and redemption, is one of Broadway's and the West End's most successful musicals of all-time. That lyric in the question is from "Javert's Soliloquy".

From Quiz Name That Musical!

Answer: Phantom of the Opera

In the Phantom's opera, "Don Juan," Christine must sing this duet with the leading male. However, when the time comes to sing it, the Phantom comes out and sings it with her instead of the actor. She then tricks him into letting her take off his mask and showing the audience who he really is. He is outraged and takes her back to his secret underground world.

From Quiz Which Mainstream Musical?

Answer: Oliver!

Yes, they were from "Oliver!", based on the Charles Dickens novel which objected to the Poor Law established in Victorian England.

From Quiz More Musicals

Answer: Carnival

From Quiz Broadway Classics

Answer: "Annie Get Your Gun"

Irving Berlin had been writing musical scores for decades when "Annie Get Your Gun" debuted but his work had remained innovative and appealing - for both stage and screen productions. As mentioned in the question the show was considered to have been (loosely) based on the life of sharp-shooter, Annie Oakley. The show told of her talent, her international travels with a "wild west" show and her romance with the show's male lead, Frank Butler. The amazing Ethel Merman was the first female lead of "Annie Get Your Gun" - in 1946. She was only the first of an incredible list of "Annies" who followed her on Broadway; among those were Dolores Gray, Mary Martin, Bernadette Peters, Marilu Henner and Reba McEntire.

From Quiz Musicals! Part 2

Answer: Cats

Music written by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and lyrics by Trevor Nunn (his long-time partner Tim Rice was not involved in this project), 'Cats' ran for an incredible 21 years in London's West End and 18 years on Broadway. Despite this, attempts to translate this theatrical extravaganza to the big screen proved to be damp squibs.

From Quiz One Word Musicals

Answer: Oliver!

"Oliver!" first opened on Broadway on January 6, 1963. The musical was based on the novel "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens. Lionel Bart wrote music, lyrics, and libretto. The original cast included Bruce Prochnik as Oliver Twist and David Jones as The Artful Dodger. A few years later, the latter would be known as Davy Jones when he became one of The Monkees. Oliver Twist was an orphan under Mr. Bumbles' care. The orphans were eating gruel, and Oliver went up and asked for more. He was then sent to live somewhere else, but he ran away and met the Artful Dodger. He moved in with Fagan and his boys, who were trained in picking pockets. The original performance closed on November 14, 1964 after 774 performances.

From Quiz Not Every Musical Can Be "Cats"

Answer: Paint Your Wagon

"Paint Your Wagon" opened on November 12, 1951 and closed after 289 performances. It starred James Barton as Ben Rumson, Olga San Juan as Jennifer, and Tony Bavaar as Julio. Lerner wrote the book and lyrics and Loewe wrote the music. The 1969 movie version starred Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The plot is radically different, but it is fun seeing the climax of the movie when the town sinks into the ground.

From Quiz Name That Musical! (pt.2)

Answer: Next to Normal

"Next to Normal" is about a family adjusting to life, as the mother worsens into her bipolar disorder. It is my 12th favorite musical.

From Quiz Name That Musical!

Answer: I Do! I Do!

My second favorite musical. It is about the marriage of two newly weds. It is a two person show, that originally starred Robert Preston and Mary Martin. "My Cup Runneth Over" is the famous song from this musical.

From Quiz Name That Musical!

Answer: Into the Woods

"Into the Woods" is a fantastic show with music by Stephen Sondheim and script written by James Lapine. It tells the story of famous fairy tale characters that come together in the woods. Rapunzel is one of those characters and, although she starts the show as the sweet girl singing in the tower, she goes crazy and soon commits suicide accidentally by running into the giant.

From Quiz Which Mainstream Musical?

Answer: Wicked

From the song "The Wizard and I", sung by Idina Menzel in the original Broadway and then West End productions.

From Quiz More Musicals

Answer: Li'l Abner

From Quiz Musicals! Part 2

Answer: Paris

Cole Porter started writing for musicals during the first world war but did not achieve his first big hit until 1928 with the musical 'Paris', which featured this immortal number. The song has subsequently been covered, re-worked and parodied many times over the years.

From Quiz One Word Musicals

Answer: Annie

"Annie" opened on April 21, 1977. Andrea McArdle played Annie and Reid Shelton played Oliver Warbucks. Annie grew up in an orphanage, but when she was ten years old Oliver Warbucks had her stay at his house for two weeks as part of a promotion to make himself look good as a millionaire. The original production closed on January 2, 1983, after 2,377 performances.

From Quiz Name That Musical! (pt.2)

Answer: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" is about a window washer who tries to get as far in the business as he can without actually working. I've seen it, and I have a good friend who was in it. It is my 13th favorite musical.

From Quiz Name That Musical!

Answer: 1776

My third favorite musical. This dramatization of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, originally starring William Daniels as John Adams, won the Tony for Best Musical. Betty Buckley played the role of Martha Jefferson.

From Quiz Name That Musical!

Answer: Mamma Mia!

"Mamma Mia!" which uses the songs from ABBA, tells the story of Sophie, a young girl who's about to get married. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but she doesn't know who her father is! She contacts three candidates who could be her dad and invites them to her wedding. "Mamma Mia!" is a delightful comedy and I highly recommend you see it.

From Quiz Which Mainstream Musical?

Answer: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

"Joseph" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who cast the actor playing Joseph in the new West End show via a reality TV show named 'Any Dream Will Do'. It was eventually won by Lee Mead.

From Quiz More Musicals

Answer: Oliver!

From Quiz Name The Broadway Show

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

From Quiz Musicals! Part 2

Answer: A Little Night Music

'A Little Night Music' premiered in 1973 and included this number which was made a hit by Judy Collins. It has been covered numerous times by other performers including Krusty the Clown in an episode of 'The Simpsons'. All of the other answers offered here were also Sondheim compositions.

From Quiz One Word Musicals

Answer: Rent

"Rent" opened on Broadway on April 29, 1996. The original cast included Anthony Rapp as Mark Cohan, Adam Pascal as Roger Davis, Taye Diggs as Benjamin Coffin the 3rd, William Jermaine Heredia as Angel Schunard, Jesse L Martin as Tom Collins, Idina Menzel as Maureen Johnson, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi Marquez, and Fredi Walker as Joanne Jefferson. Mark videotapes their lives for a year, tapes that he aspires to make into movies. He used to date Maureen, who was an actress, but she left him for Joanne, who is a lawyer. Roger is Mark's roommate, and he ends up dating Mimi. Roger was a heroin user but quit after he and his girlfriend, April, months ago got AIDS. April committed suicide after she left a note to let Roger know about the AIDS. Tom Collins is a philosophy professor at MIT. He used to live with Mark, Benny, and Maureen. He meets and then dates Angel, a drummer and drag queen. Both Collins and Angel also have AIDS. Benny married a wealthy woman named Allison, also, known as Muffy, and became Roger and Mark's landlord; he is now forcing them to pay rent or be evicted. "Rent" closed on September 7, 2008 after 5,123 performances.

From Quiz A Night at the Theater

Answer: Hadestown

Written by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, "Hadestown" sets the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in a setting reminiscent of the Great Depression. It presents a version of the story where Hades runs the Underworld as a company town and coerces a starving Eurydice to become one of his workers. The score uses aspects of folk and blues music to emphasize the setting.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:54 AM

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