A Musicals Advent Calendar Trivia Quiz

Answer: West Side Story

Three song titles made up the clues - 'Tonight', 'Somewhere' and 'America' all feature in the musical, along with songs like 'Something's Coming' and 'Maria'. The picture clue shows some Sharks, the name of the Latino (Puerto Rican heritage) gang who were constantly fighting the white American gang called the Jets.

The show was first performed in 1957 and told the story of a doomed love between a girl and boy - it was loosely based on Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Answer: Mamma Mia

The songs in the show, originally by the band ABBA, included 'Knowing Me, Knowing You', and 'The Name of the Game', used for the written clue along with the English translation of the title, 'Mamma Mia'. The photo uses 'Money Money Money' as an additional hint. The first performance of the stage show was in London, in 1999, and a film version was made in 2008.

Answer: Grease

A picture of some oils and hints for two of the songs from the musical - 'Summer Nights' and 'We Go Together' helped to identify that the show for this door is 'Grease'. It was first performed in 1971, in Chicago, and is set in the late 1950s. The film version starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and was released in 1978.

Answer: Carousel

One of many musicals created by Rodgers and Hammerstein, 'Carousel' dates from 1945. It was adapted from a play called 'Liliom' with the play's Budapest setting being changed to Maine in the USA. The best known song from the show is probably 'You'll Never Walk Alone', which formed part of the written hint, while 'roundabout' is another name for a 'carousel'.

Other songs from the show are 'If I Loved You' and 'This Was a Real Nice Clambake', referenced in the photo clue.

Answer: Cats

With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and words adapted from 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats', by T S Eliot, the musical 'Cats' opened in London in 1981. The show features humans dressed as the cat characters from Eliot's poems, with Grizabella being the Glamour Cat and singing the song 'Memory'. The photo shows a cat's tail.

Answer: Les Miserables

Based on the novel of the same name, by Victor Hugo, 'Les Mis', as it's often called, had its premiere in Paris in 1980. English lyrics were provided by Herbert Kretzmer for the show's first London performance in 1985, and it was first performed in the USA a year later. Among the songs are one performed by the chain gang convicts, which includes the lyrics 'look down', and 'One Day More'.

The flag is brandished by Enjolras on the barricades during the ill-fated rebellion.

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

You have clues of a photo of some opera glasses, and two of the songs from 'The Phantom of the Opera', another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, this time from 1986. The musical was adapted from a book written by Gaston Leroux and features a badly disfigured man who lives beneath the opera house. The songs mentioned in the question are 'All I Ask of You' and 'The Music of the Night'.

Answer: Fiddler on the Roof

The musical was another to be based on a book, with the inspiration being 'Tevye and his Daughters' by Sholem Aleichem - which is also known by other titles. The first performance was on Broadway in 1964, and London's West End saw it in 1967. A film version was released in 1971. I chose what are probably the three best known songs for your clues - 'If I Were a Rich Man', 'Sunrise, Sunset' and 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker'.

Answer: Wicked

The show tells the story of Dorothy's visit to the land of Oz from the point of view of the witches. It was based on a 1995 book, by Gregory Maguire, called 'Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West' and opened in San Francisco in 2003. The songs include 'Popular' and 'Defying Gravity', which formed the written clue, while the picture of a devil was to point you towards 'Wicked'.

Answer: The Sound of Music

This was another of the musicals created by Rodgers and Hammerstein, who based it on the autobiography of Maria von Trapp. Having intended to become a nun, Maria instead finds her vocation in looking after the many children of her employer, eventually marrying him.

The first performance of the show was in 1959, on Broadway, although most of us will probably be more familiar with the 1965 film version. The songs include 'So Long, Farewell' and 'My Favourite (or Favorite) Things' as well as 'Edelweiss', the flower in the picture clue.