What's the Connection? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Orphan as the main protagonist

In "Oliver!" and "Annie", the orphans Oliver Twist and Annie are the protagonists of their respectively titled shows. Both orphans are brought up in terrible orphanages and eventually find happiness when they are adopted by wealthy men.

Answer: An audition in the plot

"42nd Street" opens with an intense tap dance audition for the production of "Pretty Lady"; likewise, "A Chorus Line" opens with a song about auditioning and in fact is based entirely upon auditioning.

Answer: Score by George and Ira Gershwin

The famed Gershwin Bros. wrote the music and lyrics for both "Crazy for You" and "My One & Only".

Answer: Character similar to Elvis Presley

In "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", the Pharaoh of Egypt sings and acts like none other than the king, Elvis Presley himself. "Bye Bye Birdie"'s Conrad Birdie is extremely similar to Elvis...adored by teenagers, a striking singing voice, and being drafted into the army.

Answer: Primary action takes place on a ship

"Titanic" naturally takes place on the legendary RMS Titanic which sank in 1912, and "Anything Goes" is set for the most part on the SS America. Interestingly enough, "Anything Goes" (or what writings would eventually become it) was originally intended to be a comedy written about a shipwreck, but when an actual shipwreck occured during the writing stage, the idea was dismissed as insensitive.

Answer: Nazis

The Von Trapp family in "The Sound of Music" is forced out of their home and homeland by Hitler's invading Nazi party. On a lighter note in "The Producers", the producers Bialystock and Bloom set up a show called "Springtime for Hitler" written by none other than a Nazi who keeps carrier pigeons and still worships Hitler, Franz Liebkind.

Answer: A few main characters living in the same apartment complex

In both "Rent" and "Avenue Q", a few of the main characters reside in the same apartment complex, landlorded by Benjamin Coffin III and Gary Coleman (yes, that Gary Coleman) respectively.

Answer: A character named Dorothy

In "The Wizard of Oz" our heroine is Dorothy Gale, a girl blown to a strange land by a tornado. She meets up with several friends and takes on a wicked witch in order to get back home to Kansas. In "42nd Street" Dorothy Brock is a prima donna diva who scores the lead in "Pretty Lady" , but falls and breaks her leg. She does find true love as a result, however.

Answer: A song where prostitutes advertise their services

"Les Miserables" and "Sweet Charity" both have numbers where prostitutes advertise their services, namely "Lovely Ladies" and "Big Spender".

Answer: "La Cage aux Folles" and "Victor/Victoria"

The action of "La Cage aux Folles" is set in St. Tropez, France. "Victor/Victoria" is set in Paris and even boasts a song entitled "Paris MAkes Me Horny".

Answer: "Damn Yankees" and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"

In "Damn Yankees", the journalist Gloria Thorpe spreads the word of the Washington Senators' new slugger Joe Hardy by giving him the nickname "Shoeless Joe", and then tries to destroy him by spreading a rumor that he may not be who he seems. Melvin P. Thorpe, from "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" from the Watchdog program is out to expose Miss Mona's for what it really is.

Answer: "West Side Story" and "The Lion King"

"West Side Story" is based upon the Shakespeare play "Romeo & Juliet". Two feuding gangs (representative of the two feuding families in the Shakespeare) are shocked to find that two of their members are engaged in a romance together! "The Lion King" is similar to the Shakespeare play "Hamlet", in which a young prince's father is murdered by his uncle and his throne usurped, which leads to a quest for revenge.

In "The Lion King", Simba, prince of the pride lands, learns that his uncle Scar has murdered his father Mufasa, and sets out to defeat Scar and reclaim the kingdom.

Answer: "Hello, Dolly!" and "Fiddler on the Roof"

The title song of "Hello, Dolly!" is of course addressed to who else but Dolly, a prominent matchmaker. In "Fiddler on the Roof" the young daughters of Golde sing a song addressed to Yente, the matchmaker, hoping that she will come with a match for them soon.

Answer: "Titanic" and "Into the Woods"

"Titanic" is host to the song "The Blame", in which Ismay, Andrews, and Captain Smith all bicker over whose fault it is that the Titanic is sinking (In truth, it was mostly Ismay's fault, although Capt. Smith accepted responsibility by the end of the song). "Into the Woods" boasts the song "Your Fault" in which the Baker, Jack, the Witch, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood all blame one another for the appearance of a 2nd Giant.

Answer: "Chess" and "Miss Saigon"

"Chess" partially takes place in Bangkok and even has a whole song dedicated to it. "Miss Saigon" also has a setting in the Thai city.

Answer: "Spamalot " and "Footloose"

"Spamalot" is self confessed to be (lovingly) ripped off from the popular movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", released in 1975 (the Broadway show did not begin its run until 2005). "Footloose" was also based on a movie released in 1984 that was later rewritten into a musical.

Answer: "The Music Man" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

Winthrop from "The Music Man" and Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre from "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" both suffer from speech impediments, specifically lisps. Both, however, are very talented at music and spelling respectively.

Answer: "Man of La Mancha " and "Les Miserables"

"Man of La Mancha" is based on the classic "Don Quixote" by Cervantes. It tells the story of a confused old man who believes he is a knight, and hilarity ensues. "Les Miserables" bears the same name as the novel by Victor Hugo which describes the desperate attempts of the noble peasant Jean Valjean to survive in post Napoleonic 19th Century France.

Answer: "My Fair Lady" and "Merrily We Roll Along"

"My Fair Lady" was based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion", in which a man falls in love with a statue he sculpts. Similarly in "My Fair Lady", a linguistics professor falls in love with a girl from the gutter that he has taught to speak properly. "Merrily We Roll Along" is based on a play of the same name, only the former has been musicalized as well as set in more modern times.

Answer: "Grease" and "Chicago"

Both "Grease" and "Chicago", very popular musicals, did not have a title song in their original Broadway versions. "Grease" has since gained one.