Maestros Of The Musicals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jesus Christ Superstar

"Jesus Christ Superstar" was first produced in London in 1970 and became a huge hit, despite protests by some that it was sacrilegious. It was based loosely on stories and people from the Christian Gospels.

Numerous productions on the London West End and New York's Broadway followed. Two movies have also been made. The original soundtrack album topped the Billboard charts in 1970.

It was to be the first of several hit collaborations between Tim Rice, the lyricist, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer. JCS started off as a concept album before it was put on stage. One of the best-known numbers was "I Don't Know How To Love Him", which Rice and Lloyd Webber re-wrote from their 1967 song "Kansas Morning".

When the show opened on Broadway, Lloyd Webber was said to hate the production. He said: "Never in my opinion was so wrong a production mounted of my work."

Answer: Les Miserables

First performed in Paris in 1980, "Les Miserables" was adapted from the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo. Set in revolutionary Paris, it is the story of a young peasant starting his life again after serving 19 years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread. He is inspired by a benevolent bishop to do great works, but the past, as always, has a way of catching up

It opened in London in 1985, with English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, and became the longest-running musical to that time in the West End.

The show has also run in Toronto and on Broadway and several world tours have taken place. The 2012 movie production went on to gross $500m at the box office. A television production was also made.

Answer: West Side Story

"West Side Story" was a retelling of the Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet". The setting was updated to New York City in the 1950s, but still focussed on the love between a young boy and girl, this time with rival gangs replacing the familial disapproval of the original.

The musical addressed many real issues in the America of the 1950s; often these were issues that many would have preferred remained unsaid. It was regarded as ground-breaking and in the view of some was ahead of its time.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1957 and ran for some 732 shows, although numerous productions in the USA and on London's West End have taken place through the years. The first run earned two Tony Awards. In 1961, a movie version won 10 Academy Awards of the 11 nominations.

Some critics believe that the musical's legacy was cemented by the movie adaptation. That probably helped ensure some 45,000 productions the world over.

Answer: Billy Elliott

Quite often musicals spawn movie remakes, but "Billy Elliott" worked the other way around. The movie was released in 2005, with the stage version coming in 2008.

This tale of a young boy from the north east of England dreaming of becoming a ballet dancer, and achieving his goal, was based in part on real life. The premise of the movie, and stage show, was that a young boy from a working class background could overcome disadvantages and prejudices.

One who did in real life was Philip Mosley, who danced with London's Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. His insights helped shape the film script by Lee Hall.

The musical opened on the West End in 2005 and went on to win four Lawrence Olivier Awards. The show has also been performed in the USA, Canada and Australia. Lee Hall wrote the lyrics and Elton John the music. John had seen the movie at the Cannes Film Festival and had loved it so much he suggested it be made into a musical. When it came to the songs, it was a long-distance collaboration between Hall in London and John in New York.

Answer: Book of Mormon

Without going into a lot of stereotypes, there were many who did not think "Book of Mormon" would work as a musical, let alone a musical comedy. And yet it did, hilariously so, and won nine Tony Awards to show it.

The storyline was one of two young Mormons, who were polar opposites in character, being sent to Uganda to do missionary work. Raucous, obscene and irreverent were just three descriptions of the musical. The religious elements did not come to the fore in the musical.

Answer: The Sound of Music

"The Sound of Music" was the dramatised account of how the musical Austrian Von Trapp family fled the encroaching Nazi threat just before WWII and made it to the USA. The musical was a big hit on Broadway and there can be few people in the English-speaking world who have not seen the frequently repeated movie adaptation on television.

Maria Von Trapp wrote a memoir in 1949 and this was turned into a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The film adaptation came in 1965.

The musical premiered on Broadway in November 1959 and ran for more than 1,440 shows. It won five Tony Awards in 1960. The film adaptation won five Oscars. The soundtrack was the best selling LP in the United Kingdom in 1965, 1966, and 1968.

Answer: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" was inspired by the 1943 autobiographical novel of the same name by Betty Smith. While not a prolific writer, Smith became regarded as one of the great American novelists of the 20th Century. It was adapted for the big screen in 1945.

The musical opened on Broadway in April 1951 and ran for more than 260 shows. It was set in Brooklyn in the early part of the 20th Century and featured well known TV actor Shirley Booth in the lead role as a young woman looking for romance. She did find a relationship, but it was not to be an easy one.

Answer: A Chorus Line

"A Chorus Line" was the story of of dancers auditioning for a show. First performed in 1975, it went on to become the longest-running musical in Broadway history when it chalked up its 3,389th performance in 1983. It went on to run up 6,137 shows before it closed in 1990. (That record was overtaken in 1997 and when the Covid-19 pandemic closed theatres in early 2020, the record was held by "The Phantom of the Opera", with 13,358 performances.)

The critics generally liked "A Chorus Line". Looking back in 2018, Jessie Green opined in "The New York Times" that: "its youthful vigour helped resuscitate the moribund theatre district, and musical theatre in general."

The stage show was revived several times and a movie was made in 1985. Despite having Michael Douglas in the cast, the critics compared it badly to the stage show.

Answer: Plain and Fancy

"Plain and Fancy" was a comedy based in an Amish community in Pennsylvania. It was the story of the clash between two cultures, 'modern' Americana and the often perceived traditional straight-laced Amish people. The story was of two sophisticated New Yorkers travelling to Dutch County to sell some land one of them had inherited and getting mixed up with an Amish wedding.

It ran to 461 performances on Broadway from January 1955 and also appeared in the West End the following year.

One of the most notable songs in the score was "Young And Foolish". Away from the show, Paul Anka, Sasha Distel and Dean Martin were among those to cover it.

Although it ran to only one season, the show was liked by critics. It also made its money back for the producers, which many musicals have not.

For some 20 years the show was performed by Round Barn Theatre in Nappanee, Indiana, as part of its summer season.

Answer: The Human Comedy

"The Human Comedy" was initially an off-Broadway show that ran for just 79 performances from December 1983. It ran on Broadway for just 20 shows in April 1984.

Originally it had been a screenplay for a movie by William Saroyan that MGM did not make. He rewrote it as a novel that was published in 1943. It was set in 1943 and portrayed 'ordinary' Americans coping with the wartime situation on the home front. Debby Boone played a widow, raising two sons and a daughter while worrying about her eldest son who was in the Army.

Although actor Stephen Geoffreys received a Tony Award, the show was perceived as a flop. Many of the critics did not like the sparse set decoration - or virtual lack thereof. A soundtrack album was released in 1997.