Musicals in History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

"Annie" is set in December, 1933, during Franklin Roosevelt's first term and in the midst of the Great Depression. Roosevelt was elected to four terms as President and served for twelve years (1933-1945), through much of the Great Depression and all of World War Two. Raymond Thorne portrayed Roosevelt and can be heard in the reprise of "Tomorrow" and the song "A New Deal for Christmas" on the original cast album.

Although Roosevelt's predecessor, Herbert Hoover, is mentioned several times, Hoover himself does not actually appear in the musical.

Answer: New York, NY

If you have heard of LaGuardia Airport, you probably knew the answer to this question! Most of the scenes of the musical take place in New York City, where Fiorello is first a lawyer, then elected Congressman, and then finally elected mayor. Although Bosley, as Fiorello, was the star of the show, his singing can only be clearly heard in "Unfair" and "The Name's LaGuardia" as Fiorello is more of a speaking role than a singing role. "Fiorello" co-starred Patricia Wilson as Marie and Howard Da Silva as Ben Marino.

Answer: Siam

The real life Mongkut ruled Siam (today's Thailand) from 1851-1868. In one scene of the musical, Anna and some of the King's children are looking at a map of Siam and the neighboring country of Burma. In the musical, the King sings "A Puzzlement" as a solo and "Shall We Dance" as a duet with Anna, portrayed by Gertrude Lawrence in the original production.

Answer: Charlemagne

Charlemagne was the King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor (800-814). In the original run of the musical, he was portrayed by Eric Berry and sang the song "War is a Science". Charlemagne's other son in the musical, Louis, was the actual successor of the real-life Charlemagne as Louis I or Louis the Pious.

Answer: Gypsy Rose Lee

The musical "Gypsy" had 702 performances in its original run. Sandra Church portrayed vaudeville child star Louise who, by the end of the musical, is transformed into burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee. Ethel Merman plays the stage mother Rose.

Answer: John Adams

"1776" is the story of the efforts--especially by John Adams--to convince the delegates to the Second Continental Congress to vote for independence from Great Britain. Although George Washington is frequently quoted and referenced in the musical, he does not appear as a character. John Hancock does appear as a supporting character, however, Paul Revere is totally absent.

In a side note, although Da Silva was Franklin on opening night, a heart attack soon afterwards caused him to miss the recording session for the cast album. Understudy Rex Everhart can be heard as Franklin's singing voice on the album.

Answer: Austria

"The Sound of Music" was mostly set in and near the Austrian Alps. The real-life Captain Von Trapp (Bikel's character) was an officer in the Austrian Navy during World War One. Germany's takeover of Austria in 1938 was referenced several times in the musical.

Although the musical ends with the Von Trapp family escaping into Switzerland, in real life the family would then move on to the United States.

Answer: Ethel Merman

Merman performed several of the songs from "Annie Get Your Gun", including "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly", "Anything You Can Do", and "They Say It's Wonderful". Ray Middleton co-starred as Annie's husband Frank Butler. The music and lyrics for "Annie Get Your Gun" were written by Irving Berlin.

Answer: James Bailey

Barnum, who earlier in his life had run the American Museum in New York, also began a circus which was eventually combined with one run by Bailey to form the Barnum and Bailey Circus. In the show, Barnum and Bailey sing the song "Join The Circus". Tom Thumb and Sherwood Stratton also appeared as characters in "Barnum" while Ulysses Grant did not.

Answer: Argentina

In her native Argentina, Eva Duarte (1919-1952) became known as a radio and movie actress before marrying Army officer Juan Peron, who would become President of Argentina. Eva's signature song was "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". In the 1979 Broadway cast, Eva was portrayed by Patti LuPone with Mandy Patinkin as Che and Bob Gunton as Juan Peron.