A Tea Time Quiz - Ten Theatrical 'T's

Answer: Tony

Best remembered for his cries of "Maria!" in the song of the same name, it was Tony who was the member of the Jets who fell in love with Maria, the sister of a Shark, in Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's 'West Side Story'. The plot of the musical was loosely based on William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', although (spoiler alert) Tony was responsible for killing Maria's brother whereas Romeo slayed Juliet's cousin and only one of the US "star-cross'd lovers" ended up dead by the end of the story.

'West Side Story' was nominated for the Tony Award (of no connection to the name of the character) for Best Musical in 1958 but lost out to 'The Music Man'. Other famous songs from it that featured Tony include 'Something's Coming' and 'Tonight'.

Answer: Tommy DeVito

'Jersey Boys', which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2006, tells the story of the 1960s band The Four Seasons, also known as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Most of the songs used in the musical were hits released by the band. Tommy DeVito is the narrator for the first part of the musical (known as "Spring") but by "Autumn" and "Winter" the story revolves around Tommy's financial problems and their impact on the band.

In addition to DeVito, the band consisted of lead singer Frankie Valli, bassist Nick Massi and keyboard player Bob Gaudio - who wrote the score for 'Jersey Boys' and is credited as the writer of many of the band's hits. The name of the musical derives from the fact that the band members were from the US state of New Jersey.

Answer: Trekkie Monster

'Avenue Q' is about a group of young adults living in New York and the difficulties they face finding work, love and a sense of independence. The story specifically identifies the differences between reality and the apparently easy future that they were brought up to expect following years of watching children's television series such as 'Sesame Street'. Several characters are designed to parody those from that show, hence the presence of a character called Trekkie Monster (similar to Cookie Monster from 'Sesame Street') while two characters called Rod and Nicky are a play on Bert and Ernie.

More oddly, most of the characters - including Trekkie Monster - are represented on stage by puppets rather than actors. The audience are simply expected to ignore the presence of the puppeteers operating them...

Answer: Lady Thiang

The character of Lady Thiang was the chief wife of King Mongkut of Siam in 'The King and I' - a tale about the experiences of an English governess responsible for teaching Mongkut's many children at the royal court. Lady Thiang is the lead singer in two of the musical's songs - 'Something Wonderful' and 'Western People Funny'. The Rodgers and Hammerstein show debuted on Broadway in 1951 and was based on the biographical novel 'Anna and the King of Siam' by Margaret Landon.

While the story has some basis in fact, the role of Lady Thiang is a fictional one. King Mongkut had a total of 32 wives, the most important of whom included Queen Debsirindra (the mother of his successor, King Chulalongkorn) and her sister, Princess Phannarai.

Answer: Thénardier

At the start of 'Les Misérables', Thénardier was an unscrupulous innkeeper. He and his wife (known only as Madame Thénardier) were the parents of a daughter, Éponine, and a son, Gavroche. In addition they were also the original foster parents of Fantine's daughter Cosette, who they mistreated and used as a servant before selling her to the musical's main protagonist, Jean Valjean. At that point Cosette and the Thénardier's fortunes turned round and nine years later Thénardier had lost his business and set himself up in Paris as a gang leader, conman and petty thief. While his previously pampered children had become little more than street urchins, Cosette was wealthy and eventually married the man that Éponine was secretly in love with.

Songs performed by Thénardier include 'Master of the House', 'The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery' and 'Dog Eats Dog (The Sewers)'.

Answer: Timon

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog were the pair of creatures who introduced lost lion cub Simba to the joys of "Hakuna Matata" ("It means no worries, for the rest of your days...") in Disney's 'The Lion King'. The show opened on Broadway in 1997 and in London's West End in 1999, a few years after the release of the popular animated film on which it was based. While many of the animals from the story are depicted by actors with the help of relevant props (e.g. the giraffes are played by actors on stilts and the lions have a lion-shaped headdress), the role of Timon involves an actor having to wear a full meerkat costume with puppet head.

'The Lion King' won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1998 as well as the Best Costume Design Award. Like the movie, it features songs by Elton John and Tim Rice and a musical score written by Hans Zimmer.

Answer: Tracy Turnblad

'Hairspray' (the musical) launched in 2002, 14 years after the film of the same name on which it is based. Set in the 1960s, it features Tracy Turnblad, a teenager whose dreams of stardom led her to audition to appear on a TV dance show. Although she was initially rejected on the basis of her size by a bigoted producer, Tracy worked on new dance moves and used them to impress the show's host and earn her own spot on it. However, her early success faltered when she became involved in the fight against racial segregation and campaigns for equal rights for all.

The music for 'Hairspray' was written by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by both Shaiman and Scott Wittman. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2003.

Answer: Tanya

In 'Mamma Mia!', Tanya was one of the three members of Donna and the Dynamos along with friend Rosie and the eponymous Donna - the show's main character. The show is set on an idyllic Greek island and the storyline features Donna's daughter, Sophie, issuing wedding invitations to Donna's three former lovers in the hope of finally discovering the identity of her father. This simple plot provides the excuse for the cast to sing a wide range of ABBA songs - a fact that should have come as no surprise to the audience since the show's title is taken from one of ABBA's most famous hits. Tanya's songs in the show include 'Does Your Mother Know' (while trying to fend off the attentions of a much younger man) as well as 'Super Trouper' (when the Dynamos reform for Sophie's hen night).

The musical had its premiere in London's West End in 1999 and an extremely popular film adaptation was released in 2008. The character of Tanya also reappeared in the movie's 2018 sequel 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'.

Answer: Tevye

Tevye is the main protagonist of 'Fiddler on the Roof', which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1965. The show is based on a collection of stories, including 'Tevye the Dairyman', written by the Jewish author Sholem Aleichem. Set in Russian-held eastern Europe in the early 20th century, 'Fiddler on the Roof' tells the story of Tevye's struggle to preserve his traditional way of life. His problems include his eldest daughter wishing to marry for love rather than accept an arranged marriage; his younger daughters choosing to follow her lead; and then the family being expelled from their village because of their religion and having to leave for a new life in America.

'If I Were a Rich Man' is one of the most famous tunes from 'Fiddler on the Roof' and in it Tevye dreams about what he would be able do if he was wealthy and the resulting respect he would get from the other villagers.

Answer: Mr. Twimble

The music and lyrics for 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' were both written by Frank Loesser, who won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Musical for his work. It was based on a 1952 book by Shepherd Mead and, despite using a shorter version of the book's title, has one of the longest and least snappy titles ever given to a musical.

Set at the offices of the "World Wide Wicket Company", the main plot tells the story of a young man named Finch's rise from window cleaner to company executive. One of the supporting cast of characters is Finch's first mentor, Mr. Twimble, whose long-awaited promotion from the mailroom inadvertently started Finch's own move up the corporate ladder.