Welcome to New York Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aladdin

Disney's "Aladdin" was a childhood favorite of many, myself included, but it's also a popular Broadway musical. "Aladdin" tells the tale of a young street rat who falls in love with the beautiful Princess Jasmine and enlists the help of a magical Genie to help him win her heart. Unfortunately for both of them, the evil sorcerer, Jafar, also wants to marry the princess so that he can become the new Sultan of Agrabah. Jafar does everything he can to keep Aladdin and Jasmine apart, but they are able to foil him in the end.

The musical version of "Aladdin" follows the general plot of the Disney movie, but made changes to several of the characters when adapted for the stage. There are no animal sidekicks to any of the main characters in the musical. Aladdin's monkey friend, Abu, was replaced with three new characters (Babkak, Omar, and Kassim), Iago changed from a talking parrot to a human sidekick, and Jasmine's tiger, Rajah, was simply eliminated from the cast of characters altogether. It seems that "Aladdin" blood runs in the musically talented Jacobs family, as both siblings Adam and Arielle Jacobs have starred in stage productions of "Aladdin". Adam originated the role of Aladdin on Broadway and Arielle originated the role of Jasmine in Australia. Unfortunately, it would have been too awkward for them to star opposite each other as love interests in the show or they could have worked together on Broadway!

Answer: Jekyll & Hyde

"Jekyll & Hyde" is a musical adaptation of the 1886 novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Dr. Jekyll is a scientist who develops a serum that is designed to split away the evil part of a person in the hopes that he can save the lives of people who suffer from the kind of "darkness" that he thinks has made his father ill. No one believes that his idea will work, but he has faith, so he tests the "cure" on himself, resulting in the creation of Mr. Hyde. Jekyll and Hyde change back and forth several times, but Mr. Hyde makes his final appearance at Jekyll's wedding the love of his life, Emma. Hyde takes over as the ceremony begins and kills a guest at the wedding before taking Emma hostage. Jekyll is able to regain momentary control of his body and begs his friend Utterson to kill him. Utterson cannot bring himself to kill his friend, so Jekyll impales himself on Utterson's sword, freeing himself from Hyde's control forever.

Though "Jekyll and Hyde" had a long run on Broadway with more than 1500 performances from March 21, 1997 to January 7, 2001, it lost more than $1.5 million. The show was revived on Broadway in 2013 starring Constantine Maroulis, who appeared on the 4th season of "American Idol", as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Answer: West Side Story

"West Side Story" is a very well known modern adaptation of Shakespeare's popular tragedy, "Romeo & Juliet", a staple of high school English classes. Instead of warring families, the Capulets and the Montagues, "West Side Story" features two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, who fight each other on the streets of New York City's Upper West Side in the 1950s. Many parallels can be drawn between characters in the musical and characters from the play, the most obvious being Tony (Romeo) and Maria (Juliet). A glaring departure from the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet seen in "West Side Story" is the fate of the two star-crossed lovers. Instead of both committing suicide, as happens in the play, Tony is murdered by Chino (Paris), and Maria is left alive to mourn.

"West Side Story" first hit the stage on Broadway in 1957, and in London's West End in 1958. It was revived on Broadway in 1980 and in 2009, and was made into a movie in 1961. The West End's original Bernardo (Tybalt), George Chakiris, reprised his role in the movie, and was one of only a few actors who sang their own parts.

Answer: The Book of Mormon

"The Book of Mormon" centers around two young Mormon missionaries, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, who are assigned by the Church to spend two years in Uganda in an attempt to convert the local Africans to the Mormon faith. Elder Price starts out as a model, devout Mormon, but his life quickly unravels when his dreams of going to Orlando for his mission are dashed and he's partnered with the young Elder Cunningham, who marches to the beat of his own drum. When things start of fall apart in Africa, and the boys are witnesses to an attack by a brutal general, Elder Price has a crisis of faith and Elder Cunningham steps up to teach the locals about the Mormon religion. The only problem is that Elder Cunningham never read the "Book of Mormon" and has a habit of making things up when he doesn't know what else to do... who knew there were Death Stars, hobbits, and Boba Fett frog-men in the story of Christ?

"The Book of Mormon" was an incredibly well-received musical, written by the creators of "South Park", with sellout crowds night after night. This might seem surprising for a musical that pokes fun at religion (not just the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and includes not only irreverent lyrics and situations, but also quite a bit of profanity. However, there is a powerful message of faith and hope in the story that resonates with all audiences. The Mormon Church has even advertised in the Playbills for the show!

Answer: Miss Saigon

"Miss Saigon" is the story of Kim, a young Vietnamese woman in the late 1970s. Chris, an American soldier, heads to a brothel called "Dreamland" in Saigon shortly before the end of the Vietnam War. The night he's there is the first night that Kim, an orphan and a virgin, is being whored out at the club. Chris's friend John talks him into going with Kim and the two of them quickly fall in love. Chris leaves Kim behind after promising to take her with him on his departure from Vietnam. He doesn't realize that Kim is pregnant and he unknowingly leaves her alone to raise their son, Tam, a "bui-doi" (half-American, half-Vietnamese child). Chris marries Ellen after he gets home to the United States, not knowing that Kim was still alive or that she was waiting for him to return. Kim and Chris reconnect again years later and Kim asks him to take care of their child. Ellen wants to be with Chris, but not if Kim and Tam are in their lives, and tells Chris that he has to make a choice because he can't have them all. "Miss Saigon" tragically ends with Kim committing suicide, leaving Tam with a brokenhearted Chris.

"Miss Saigon" is based on the Puccini opera "Madame Butterfly" which follows a similar tragic tale of an Asian woman left behind by her American soldier lover. "Miss Saigon" first hit the stage in London's West End in 1989, and began its Broadway run in 1991. It was revived in the West End in 2014 and on Broadway in 2017. Lea Salonga originated the role of Kim in both the West End and Broadway productions, and Eva Noblezada has followed suit, starring in the lead role in the Broadway revival after completing her West End run.

Answer: Bandstand

"Bandstand" is the tale of World War II US Army veteran Donny Novitsky, and his Donny Nova band, as they compete in a large bandstand competition to get their original song into a Hollywood movie. The band is composed of six musicians, all military vets, and their soloist, a Gold Star widow named Julia Trojan. The musical follows the soldiers' post-war struggles trying to find a place in life back home in Cleveland in 1945. With Julia's original song and Donny's musical arrangement, the Donny Nova band wins the Cleveland competition and earns a spot in the National Radio Swing Band "Tribute to the Troops" competition in New York City. After learning that the competition wants sole rights to their original song and offers them no guarantees in return, they decide to change the lyrics at the last minute so that no one would dare put it in a movie (the winner's prize).

"Bandstand: The New American Musical" is an emotional whirlwind with music to bring audiences to tears. Unique to "Bandstand", all of the actors are required to play their instruments live on stage (they don't mime along to an orchestra)! Corey Cott, Cleveland area native and Broadway's original Donny Novitsky, had to learn how to play the piano for his role in the show, and several of the other band members were musicians first who learned to act to be able to perform their roles in the show.

Answer: Dear Evan Hansen

"Dear Evan Hansen" is a powerful musical with a tiny cast (only eight actors appear on stage) that leaves audiences in tears at the end of every performance. It centers around high school senior, Evan Hansen, who struggles with severe anxiety that leaves him without any real friends. Fellow classmate, Connor Murphy, is an outcast himself, who at the start of the school year commits suicide. The only thing found with Connor was a note in his pocket that started with the words "Dear Evan Hansen". The letter was actually written by Evan, as part of his therapy for his anxiety, but Connor found it in a printer at their school and takes it with him because he thinks that Evan was making fun of him. Connor's parents think the note is a suicide note from Connor and question Evan about it. Evan decides to pretend he was Connor's friend and makes up backdated emails to prove their friendship. The lies catch up to Evan and he loses all the relationships that he built as a result of his lies. It is then revealed that Evan had attempted suicide over the summer before his senior year started, and that he understands exactly how Connor had been feeling.

"Dear Evan Hansen" won six Tony Awards in 2017 including the Tony for Best Musical and has since been adapted into a young adult novel. Ben Platt, Broadway's original Evan Hansen, won the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest actors in history to win a Tony Award; he was just 23 years of age.

Answer: Thoroughly Modern Millie

"Thoroughly Modern Millie" follows the story of young Millie Dillmount, a "modern" girl from Kansas who moves to New York City with the singular goal of marrying a wealthy man. Shortly after she arrives in New York, she is robbed in the street and loses everything she came with, including a shoe! No one will help her get her things back, so she trips a man (Jimmy Smith) who's walking down the street and asks him to help her. Jimmy suggests that she head to a boarding house for young women that won't ask her to pay right away. Millie finds herself a job as a typist and tries to woo her boss, unsuccessfully, since he has money. Time passes and women start to disappear from the "Hotel Priscilla" where Millie is staying (in a white slavery ring, unknown to the characters in the show). One of the missing girls is a friend of Millie's, Miss Dorothy Brown. Millie runs into Jimmy again and their complicated romance beings at a party for a very wealthy singer named Muzzy. Millie believes that Jimmy is poor and initially turns down his proposal for marriage, but realizes later that what she really wants is love and that money isn't everything. Later, after everyone realizes what is happening at the hotel, they organize a sting operation to catch the owner in the act, using Muzzy as bait. Dorothy is rescued, as it is revealed that both Dorothy and Jimmy are Muzzy's stepchildren and incredibly wealthy, so Millie ends up getting exactly what she wanted, love AND a rich man.

While "Thoroughly Modern Millie" won six Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, including wins for Best Musical in 2002, there has been a lot of controversy over certain parts of the show that carry racist undertones. Mrs. Meers, the owner of the Hotel Priscilla, and her two henchmen, are often portrayed with overly affected accents and employ negative stereotypes that paint Chinese people in a very negative light. "Thoroughly Modern Millie" won lead actress Sutton Foster her first Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.

Answer: Carrie

"Carrie" is a musical adaptation of the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The story follows Carrie White, a teenager with telekinetic abilities who is constantly taunted and teased by her classmates. Her story culminates on Prom Night where she is named Prom Queen and is subsequently drenched in pig's blood. Humiliated and angry, Carrie unleashes her powers on the gym, trapping and killing all in attendance. She returns home wearing a blood-soaked dress and confronts her abusive mother, Margaret, in the kitchen. Margaret stabs Carrie, who retaliates by using her telekinesis to kill her mother. Sue, a girl from school who was, by sheer luck, thrown out of prom and wasn't part of the massacre, arrives and comforts Carrie as she dies at her mother's feet.

"Carrie" first hit Broadway on May 12th, 1988, headed by Tony Award-winning actress Betty Buckley and a veteran cast. It was a multi-million dollar production that was widely panned by critics with the NY Times reporting that it "expire[d] with fireworks like the Hindenberg". The show closed on May 15th, 1988 after only 16 previews and five performances. The musical was revived for a limited run Off-Broadway in 2012, starring Molly Ranson as the title character, and received much better reviews and several Drama Desk Award nominations.

Answer: Into the Woods

"Into the Woods" is a twisted look at some beloved fairy tales, mixing "Little Red Riding Hood", "Rapunzel", "Cinderella", and "Jack and the Beanstalk" into one complicated story. The musical is split into two very different acts, with Act I telling more traditional tales, and Act 2 revealing their much darker sides. The main driving force of the musical is the story of the baker and his wife, and their quest to have a child. The baker's family had been cursed to be barren by the ugly witch who lived next door after the baker's father stole her magic beans. The witch makes a deal with the couple to give them what they've always wanted, a child, in exchange for procuring certain items that she needs for a potion that will make her beautiful again. They head off into the woods in search of the witch's ingredients: Jack's cow, Cinderella's golden slippers, Red Riding Hood's red cloak, and Rapunzel's hair (they end up not being able to use this because the witch had previously touched it, and use hair from an ear of corn instead). After the witch makes herself beautiful once more, a giantess descends from Jack's beanstalk that grew out of the magic beans he received from the baker in exchange for his cow. The giantess destroys much of the town and the forest, and not everyone survives to the end.

As with many Broadway musicals, "Into the Woods" was adapted for younger actors to perform in schools. "Into the Woods" is unique in that the adaptation for school children completely eliminates the second act of the musical. Many stage performances of the complete show include a warning to families after the conclusion of the first act so that young children can leave before the darker second half of the musical. The musical was turned into a feature-length movie in 2014, starring Meryl Streep as the witch and James Corden and Emily Blunt and the baker and his wife. The movie cut several songs from the stage version, including the princes' reprise of "Agony" - much needed comic relief in the middle of Act 2.