Your Own Thing Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1968

'Your Own Thing' is set firmly in the culture of the late '60s. It opened at the Orpheum Theatre in New York on 13 January 1968, and ran for 933 performances before closing in late 1969. Even while it was running in New York there were touring companies, and later versions ran in London and Sydney.

Answer: Twelfth Night

'Twelfth Night, or What You Will' is set in Illyria, as is 'Your Own Thing' - but this Illyria looks suspiciously like New York City. Shipwrecked twins get mistaken for each other in both plays, but 'Your Own Thing' eliminates much of Shakespeare's comedic subplot, stripping the performance down to a frenetic 90-minute show with only four main characters.

Answer: They are referred to as identical twins.

The show, like Shakespeare's original, is based on the premise that nobody can tell which twin is which, despite the fact that one is male and one female. The production helped the illusion along by dressing both twins in orange bell-bottoms and loose-fitting yellow jersey tops with big off-centred zips to make them hang strangely on both characters.

The actors dyed their hair the same shade of red, and casting was done to have them similar in height. Still, the audience was never in any doubt as to which one they were watching onstage at any given time!

Answer: He has been drafted.

War, Death and Famine are quite glad they didn't have to go fight in Vietnam, and sad to see their friend go. Still, life goes on, so they need a replacement. Orson, their manager, arranges the auditions, and Viola is successful.

Answer: Charlie

Shakespeare had Viola assume the character of Cesario, which has been anglicized to Charlie. Nobody seems to notice that her voice is somewhat higher in range than the other singers in the band. Orson grows increasingly fond of Charlie, and finds these emotions confusing, especially as he is (he believes) already in love with someone else.

Answer: Olivia

Orson is in love with Olivia, the owner of the nightclub where the band works, but she won't see him, so he sends Charlie to deliver a letter on his behalf. Viola departs, reluctantly, because she is aware of her growing fondness for Orson, as she expresses in 'She Never Told Her Love'.

Answer: They fall in love with each other.

Sebastian and Olivia feel an immediate attraction for each other, although she is sometimes talking to Viola and sometimes to Sebastian as she tries to sort out her feelings, and that certainly doesn't help! Nobody seems to notice any difference between the two Charlies, who manage to not run into each other in an unrealistic but fun series of scenes.

Answer: Thirty

We learn their age in the song 'Middle Years', when Olivia sings, "He's twenty, I'm thirty, does it matter?" At the time, the phrase "Don't trust anyone over thirty" was common parlance, so this age makes them significantly part of the older generation, and increases the difficulty of sorting out the emotional entanglements.

Answer: True

In the show's finale, 'Your Own Thing', the four agree to let themselves follow their hearts, and not worry about what anyone else thinks of them and their relationships. Orson is, however, relieved to find that the Charlie to whom he is attracted is female, and happy to meet her brother!

Answer: Sets were white screens onto which slides were projected.

The Orpheum was a traditional small theatre with a proscenium stage. The show established different scenes by projecting the appropriate images on the white flats that framed the stage and were strategically placed on it. Between scenes, the slides changed to be other images (e.g., a picture of Henry VIII, while the sound projectionist played the track that went "If music be the food of love, play on" as Viola was on her way to see Olivia with Orson's letter).

It doesn't sound very unusual now, but back then it caused a lot of comment!