R Musicals Trivia

1. "Ruddigore", aka "Ruddygore", was composed by which famous pair?

From Quiz Ruddigore

Answer: Gilbert and Sullivan

The pre-eminent duo of Victorian operettas were prolific in their endeavors. Among their many other compositions are "The Pirates of Penzance", "The Yeomen of the Guard", and, probably their most popular, "The Mikado".

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: Anthony Newley

Anthony Newley wrote most of the tunes, not--as one might expect--the lyrics, to the songs.

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: Eudora Welty

Welty, a well-known Southern writer, first published the book 1n 1942. Though based on a Grimm Brothers story, she employs some symbolic elements to convey parts of their tale as well as changing the ending.

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: The Tempest

For those of you who don't know it, I'll try to briefly explain the plot. The starship Albatross takes off on a routine survey flight, and the audience are passengers. We are introduced to Captain Tempest, Cookie, the ship's cook (obviously) and the science officer, a mysterious woman. The ship is suddenly hit by an asteroid storm, during which the science officer escapes, taking the only escape pod, which is enough to arrest her for mutiny if she is caught. Then the ship is caught in a tractor beam, and is drawn to a mysterious planet. For more, see the 'Interesting Information' sections for the next few questions.

From Quiz Ruddigore

Answer: "The Witch's Curse"

Sir Rupert Murgatroyd, the First Baronet of Ruddigore, was wickedness personified. He spent time and money in persecuting those he believed to be witches. Until the day that he was cursed by an old hag he had burned at the stake... "The Red-Headed League" happens to be Victorian, but it's a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "The Curse of the Undead" is a vampire western, circa 1959, starring Eric Fleming. "The Merryman and his Maid" actually IS a G&S subtitle, but it belongs to "The Yeomen of the Guard".

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: The little guy can triumph over the corrupt and powerful.

The play is an allegorical representation of the transformation and ultimate triumph of the small and downtrodden over corrupt, complacent and cruel powermongers. It doesn't sound like it could be, but it's actually very funny for the most part!

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: Country-folk

A country string band is used during the performance. Considering the setting of the story, the music is appropriate and effective.

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: Sir Patrick Moore & Patrick Moore & Moore

The sight of Patrick Moore coming onto the video screen on stage always produces a huge laugh from the audience members that don't know it's coming, and cheering from those who do. And now, more plot. The ship lands on the mysterious planet, and is hailed by Doctor Prospero, a scientist who is well known, but thought to have gone mad and escaped from Earth for some reason. Prospero explains that the real reason he disappeared was because of his wife's treachery. He had been developing a drug known as 'The X Factor', which triggers telegenesis, the power to create anything by pure thought alone. One day, in his lab, his wife, Gloria, held him up at gun point, hoping to steal the formula and the glory for herself. She put him and his baby daughter Miranda on a rocket and shot them into space to die. Fortunately, they found a planet to live on, D'Illyria, the one onto which the Albatross has been drawn. More later.

From Quiz Ruddigore

Answer: That each Lord of Ruddigore must commit a crime each day.

If he attempts to avoid committing a crime, no matter how insignificant, on that day in agony he will die. At the time the play is set, there have been no less than 21 Baronets, the portraits of which hang in the gallery of Ruddigore Castle.

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: Cyril Ritchard

Cyril Ritchard, an Australian actor with a long and distinguished career, played Sir, the personification of power misused. Sir, although as wretchedly dressed as the others in the cast, clearly holds all the marbles.

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: Bandit of the Woods

He disguises himself by smearing berry juice over his face. By stopping the Harp gang, he gains the trust of the planter Musgrove.

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: James Doohan

Otherwise known as Scottie from "Star Trek". More plot (it's quite long and complicated): After Prospero tells his story, his servant enters the ship. It is Ariel, a roller-skating robot. Then we are introduced to Prospero's daughter Miranda who is now 16. Cookie immediately falls in love with her, and believes she feels the same, because she kissed him on the cheek. However, she falls for Captain Tempest, who rejects her because she is too young for him (although he is tempted by her). Prospero does not approve of Miranda's attraction to the captain, and disowns her over it. To be continued.

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: A spiral trail of spaces similar to a hopscotch board .

The stage was meant to represent a gameboard, the backdrop against which the characters played the game of life.

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: The Natchez Trace

It occurs before Mississippi is even a state. The roughness and lawlessness is comparable to tales of the Old West.

From Quiz Ruddigore

Answer: Both of these

At the beginning of the play, Robin is wooing Rose, and she reciprocates his love, believing him to be a Young Farmer, not knowing his true identity. When Sir Ruthven's foster brother - "a Man o' War's man" - Richard Dauntless, comes home from the sea, things begin to fall apart, and Rose turns away from Robin/Ruthven to become betrothed to Richard.

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: Whatever Sir said they were.

Sir made the rules and changed them at a whim. The rules were always designed with one end in mind--to thwart Cocky and keep Sir in power. Sir delighted in destroying any small bit of happiness Cocky managed to find.

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: Mike Fink

Mike Fink was a contemporary of Crockett. As a Mississippi boatmen, he had his own legendary tales of strength and action.

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: She's Not There

This is the moment that every 'Planet' fan looks forward to. It always gets a bigger round of applause, cheering, whistling, etc. than anything else in the whole play, and once you hear it, you'll know why. More plot: Act 2 begins with a brief recap of what's just happened, starting from the moment Ariel brings the science officer, or Gloria as she is now known to be, back to the ship, and the monster attacks. Ariel is sent to get rid of the monster, which he manages to do, but Gloria warns the crew that it will return. She is ignored and arrested for mutiny and for her attempt to kill Prospero 16 years ago. Cookie is set the task of being her guard. Not a good idea. She manages to convince him that she was trying to kill Prospero because she knew he would get out of control and use his telegenesis formula for evil. She then makes a deal with Cookie: if he lets her go and steals Prospero's formula for her, she will tell him how to attract Miranda. Cookie agrees. TBC.

From Quiz Ruddigore

Answer: Sir Despard Murgatroyd

And yet another Murgatroyd? Indeed. She loves Despard, and he loves her. And she knows he lives beneath the curse. What she doesn't know is that Despard is the YOUNGER brother of Ruthven, and what he doesn't realize is that the curse doesn't really have any bearing on him, even though he's been carefully committing some crime each day.

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: Who Can I Turn To?

"Who Can I Turn To" was recorded by several other artists, including Tony Bennett; the song, sung in despair by Cocky when it seems he will never find a way out from under Sir's thumb, is addressed to God--"Who can I turn to if you turn away?"

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: Cookie

In every cast, the guy playing Cookie just gets better. Phil Reed, the current one (or most recent as of 2004, anyway), is a guitar playing god! More plot: After Cookie makes his deal with Gloria, Miranda returns, dressed up in what she believes is a more mature and sexy way, in a desperate attempt to get Captain Tempest's attention. However, he tells her that she has overdone it, and that he was attracted to her natural beauty. Cookie then attempts to steal Prospero's formula, and eventually Ariel ends up eating it. At this point, the monster from the end of Act 1 returns to threaten the ship. Gloria explains to the crew the reason why the monster has returned. Remember Prospero drinking the telegenesis formula? It was because he was angry about Miranda being in love with the Captain, right? The anger he was feeling at the time he drank it created the monster, so as long as he still feels that anger, even subconsciously, the monster can not be destroyed. Nearly finished now.

From Quiz Ruddigore

Answer: The gallery of ghosts

Portraits of the previous 21 accursed Baronets hang in a gallery of Ruddigore Castle. If a current living Baronet is remiss in quickly completing a crime, the ghosts step out of their portraits, and proceed to give a taste of the coming agony to him.

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: The chorus

The urchins were present for most of the play. They were fickle creatures who slavishly doted on whomever was on top in the game at the moment--and who gleefully put down whomever wasn't.

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: Robert Waldman

The lyrics and book were written by Alfred Uhry. Bostwick starred in the Broadway production as Jamie Lockhart and is on the original cast recording.

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: Matt Devitt

Matt Devitt has since also been in many British TV shows, including the hospital drama "Casualty", and an appearance as a dog in an episode of "Red Dwarf" in which the crew get sucked into a parallel dimension and meet their female counterparts. Except the Cat, whose opposite is the dog. Anyway, last bit of 'Planet' plot coming up: After Gloria's revelation that the monster attacking them comes from Prospero's brain, a heart-breaking decision is made. In order to save the ship, Prospero kills himself, because only by his death can the monster be destroyed. However, D'Illyria was sustained by the good part of Prospero's mind, so once he commits suicide, it starts to explode as well. The Albatross manages to escape, Captain Tempest finally admits his attraction to Miranda and they get together, and Cookie is arrested for his part in the plot to steal the formula, but is pardoned. Then they all have a big massive jam session. And that's the end. Sorry it took so long to explain.

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: He showed Cocky that Sir could be bested.

The Negro (remember, this was in the mid 1960s--at the time, the term was respectful) was a joyous young man who simply ignored Sir's rules, thus robbing him of power. He just walked the length of the gameboard until he occupied the winning square in the center. Watching this, Cocky realized that it was possible that he, too, could win!

From Quiz The Robber Bridegroom

Answer: Salome

After Musgrove's wife is killed and he escapes with his daughter, he marries Salome. Her plan is to kill the daughter. When she finds out Lockhart's true identity, she tries to use that to her advantage. Her henchman's name is Goat, but he ends up killing Salome by mistake.

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

She comes in wearing a gold version of the dress from 'The Seven Year Itch', the one in the famous picture of Marilyn on the grate. I have seen one version where she comes in as Olivia Newton-John from the end of 'Grease', but that was a production done by my college, and they did 'Grease' two years ago, so it was a decision based more on already having the costume than for any artistic reason. (Actually, the girl playing Miranda was the one who had played Sandy!)

From Quiz The Roar of the Greasepaint

Answer: None

"Greasepaint" was nominated for six Tonys and lost all six to "Fiddler on the Roof". The song "Who Can I Turn To" was nominated for a Grammy and lost to "Hello, Dolly". Tough competition that year!

From Quiz Return to the Forbidden Planet

Answer: telegenesis

As explained earlier, telegenesis is the power to create through pure thought.

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