Musical Medley Trivia Quiz

Answer: The King and I

Rodgers and Hammerstein's fifth musical, "The King and I", was first performed on Broadway on March 29, 1951. It was based on Margaret Landon's novel "Anna and the King of Siam" (before Siam became Thailand). It is the story of British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens who moves to Siam with her young son in the 1860s, in order to become the governess to King Mongut's many children.

It is part of the King's plan to modernize his country, although he does not always understand the new ways of the world, as he sings in "A Puzzlement".

Answer: Carousel

"Carousel" is the second Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration. The 1945 musical, based on Molnar's 1909 play "Liliom", moved from Budapest to Maine. The story is about carousel barker Billy Bigelow and his love for Julie Jordan. Julie gets pregnant and Billy decides to commit a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child. "If I Loved You" is sung at the beginning of their relationship, when Billy and Julie talk about what it might be like if they were in love.

In 1999, Time magazine named "Carousel" the best musical of the 20th century.

Answer: Flower Drum Song

Hmmm, yet another Rodgers and Hammerstein show, "Flower Drum Song" was their eighth musical. This was based on a 1957 novel by C.Y. Lee, and premiered on Broadway in 1958. The story is about a Chinese bride, Mei Li, who is brought to San Francisco, California, to marry nightclub owner Sammy Fong. Sammy, however, has a girlfriend he prefers, and he offers Mei Li to a traditional Asian father for his son.

The son, Wang Ta, on the other hand, has become so 'Americanized' that he has chosen to pursue nightclub singer Linda Low instead.

While getting ready for her first date with Ta, Linda sings "I Enjoy Being A Girl".

Answer: Annie

The musical "Annie" opened on Broadway in 1977. The plot was based on Harold Gray's comic strip "Little Orphan Annie", and it was written by (NOT Rodgers and Hammerstein) Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. The plot centers on eleven-year- old Annie, who is living at the Municipal Girls' Orphanage run by miserable Miss Hannigan. One evening, when Miss Hannigan returns with a hangover, she catches Annie trying to escape.

As punishment, she makes the girls thoroughly clean the orphanage; at this point, through their scouring and scrubbing, they sing "It's the Hard Knock Life".

But don't worry; there's always "Tomorrow"!

Answer: My Fair Lady

On to one of Broadway's most popular musicals, "My Fair Lady", based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion". Written by Lerner and Lowe, the show opened in 1956, with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews playing Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, respectively. Phoneticist Higgins makes a bet that he can take a lowly flower girl and change her into a 'lady'. Well, the big night arrives and Eliza is an unconditional success at the Embassy Ball.

Instead of praising her, the Professor is pleased with his own success and ignores Eliza. Eliza, enraged at being ignored, storms out, prepares to leave, and reprises "Just You Wait", a song she first sang in the middle of the Act I, when Higgins was overworking her.

Answer: A Chorus Line

"A Chorus Line" opened on Broadway in 1975, with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The premise of the show is very basic, i.e., dancers auditioning for a part in the chorus line of a show. Set on a bare stage, we see the hopes and aspirations of these potential stars, and the circumstances that brought them here. In the next to last scene, one dancer suffers a career-ending injury. "What I Did for Love" represents the anthem that, no matter what happens, these dancers have no regrets, having dedicated their lives to what they love.

Answer: Miss Saigon

The first Broadway performance of "Miss Saigon" was on September 20, 1989. The musical was written by Schonberg and Boublil ("Les Miserables"), and it is based on Puccini's "Madame Butterfly". Set in 1970s Saigon (later Ho Chi Minh City), the story has been updated to depict the doomed relationship between a Vietnamese bargirl and the American soldier with whom she fell in love, i.e., Kim and Chris.

In the middle of Act 1, after an altercation with the man to whom Kim had been betrothed at thirteen, Chris promises to bring Kim with him when he leaves.

They reprise the song from their first night in "The Last Night of the World".

Answer: West Side Story

On of my favorite musicals of all time is "West Side Story", written by Bernstein and Sondheim, from a book by Arthur Laurents, with Jerome Robbins' choreography; it is based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". With those credentials, how could it fail? The show opened on Broadway in 1957.

It is set in New York City's Upper East Side in the 1950s, and pits rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, against each other. Tony, once a member of the Jets, meets and falls in love with Maria, sister of the leader of the Sharks. Before he meets Maria, Tony's first solo in Act 1 is "Something's Coming", which expresses his hope for a better future.

Answer: Hamilton

Lin-Manuel Miranda's ("In the Heights") wonderful musical, "Hamilton", moved to Broadway in August 2015, to rave reviews. It is about American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, and was inspired by a 2004 biography about Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The song, "Your Obedient Servant", near the end of the second act, is based on the correspondence between Hamilton and Burr after the election of 1800 but, obviously, prior to their duel.

The song title represents the way in which letters were signed in those days.

Answer: Book of Mormon

Written by those scamps from "South Park", Matt Stone and Trey Parker, along with Robert Lopez, "The Book of Mormon" was first performed on Broadway on March 24, 2011. The musical tells the story of about two Mormon missionaries, Kevin Price and Arnold Cunningham, who travel to Uganda to preach the gospel.

In true Parker/Stone tradition, it satirizes "Mormon practices and beliefs". When Price and Cunningham try to bring their religion to a people beset by famine, disease and oppression, they are met with indifference by the villagers, and hostility by the General (the local warlord).

In Act II, Cunningham and the villager Nabulungi sing "Baptize Me" while the villagers are getting baptized...have the Mormons succeeded?