A Fine Romance Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marian Paroo and Harold Hill

Harold is a traveling salesman who typically takes orders for band instruments then skips town with the money. Marian realizes he is a fraud but falls in love with him because of the way he transforms the town's children, including her own brother. Harold has a chance to get away but chooses to stay because he's in love with Marian.

They sing beautifully together, but will Harold really like settling down to direct a real boy's band in a small town?

Answer: Guys and Dolls

Sarah Brown and Obediah "Skye" Masterson discover they have a lot of chemistry. But can a woman who's vowed never to marry a gambler really be happy with a man who honors a commitment to her by shooting craps? The second couple in the story, gambler Nathan Detroit and cabaret singer Miss Adelaide, also marry at the end of the play...after a 14-year engagement.

As it says in the title song, "Love is the thing that has licked 'em? And it looks like I am just another victim."

Answer: Pippin

"Pippin" follows the adventures of Charlemagne's son as he searches for meaning. ln Act 1 he sings "So many men seem destined to settle for something small. But I won't rest til I know I have it all." At the end, he passes up the chance for a glorious finish to settle down with a widow and her son.

He sings, "If I'm never tied to anything, I'll never be free." But is he really ready to settle down and become the guy who loses sleep over size of the compost heap?

Answer: Tony and Maria

Tony and Maria are the main characters in the musical "West Side Story", based on the plot of "Romeo and Juliet". Unlike many other musicals, this couple doesn't end up together. The conflict between the Sharks and the Jets dooms their hopes of living happily ever after when Tony is killed in a rumble. Of course, cynics might question the wisdom of planning a future with someone from a totally different background that you've known for less than a week.

Answer: The King and I

As unlikely as the plot seems, "The King and I" was based on the true story of Anna Leonowens, whom Mongkut, King of Siam, hired to teach his family. In this case, the relationship does not blossom into a romance. However, they do become friends despite their differences, and Anna contributes to the evolution of Thai culture.

Answer: South Pacific

Nurse Nellie Forbush is posted to an island in the South Pacific during World War II. She meets and falls for Emile de Becque. Their romance is challenged when she discovers that he has two mixed-race children from a liaison with a native woman. During the musical, several characters need to face their prejudices, and learn that hatred "has to be carefully taught."

Answer: Brigadoon

The town of Brigadoon appears for one day, once every 100 years. No one is allowed to leave, but an outsider is allowed to stay if he loves someone in the town. Although he has only known Fiona one day, Tommy does decide to join her. As one of the characters says "If ye love someone deeply, anythin' is possible," even this most unlikely of relationships.

Answer: Anything Goes

Hope Harcourt is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Billy Crocker, a young Wall Street broker, meets her in a taxi, falls instantly in love, and stows away on SS American to try to win her heart. A nightclub singer and gangster advance this most unlikely plot. Of course, with songs such as "You're the Top", "Anything Goes", "Friendship", "It's De-Lovely", and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow", who really cares about the plot?

Answer: My Fair Lady

"My Fair Lady" is based on the play "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. Throughout the play, the cockney flower seller (Liza Doolittle) and the pompous professor who teaches her how to speak and act like a lady (Professor Henry Higgins) squabble. Shaw thought that pair was very mis-matched and ends his play with Liza marrying Freddy Eynsford-Hill, a young man who adores her.

When the musical was created, however, the power of romance won out, and Liza decides to stay with Henry.

Answer: She Loves Me

"She Loves Me" is based on a Hungarian play that was also the basis for "The Shop Around the Corner" and "In the Good Old Summertime". The main characters argue with each other, while secretly falling in love through their letters. You may recognize the conceit...it also shows up in the movie "You've Got Mail". Perhaps the more unlikely (but equally charming couple) is Ilona, who has been seduced and rejected by one of the other clerks, and the kindly optometrist she meets at the library.