Musicals, in Other Words Quiz | Movies Word Play

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The 1968 movie musical for which Barbra Streisand won a Best Actress Oscar could be known as "Droll Lass". But it isn't. What is its actual name?

Answer: Funny Girl

"Funny Girl" (1968) was based on the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name. It tells the life story of Fanny Brice, detailing her rise to stage stardom and her turbulent love life with a renowned gambler.

Streisand shared the Oscar for Best Actress with Katharine Hepburn for her performance in "The Lion in Winter".

2. "Tresses-spritzer" could have been an alternative name for a musical set in 1960s Baltimore. However, a more succinct name was chosen. What is it actually called?

Answer: Hairspray

"Hairspray" premiered on Broadway in 2002 and was based on a 1998 book of the same name by John Waters. It follows overweight teenager Tracy Turnblad as she fights for equality not only for herself, but also for those of different races in 1960s America.

A film version was released in 1988 and starred Ricki Lake (of chat show fame) as Tracy Turnblad. The film was remade in 2007, and starred John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Tracy's mother.

Hairspray is a substance sprayed onto hair to hold it in place.

3. "Narrative of the Occidental Facade" is an alternative way of describing a famous romantic musical featuring gang rivalry in 1950s New York City. What is its actual name?

Answer: West Side Story

"West Side Story" premiered on Broadway in 1957 and is based loosely on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". It tells a story of two rival gangs, the Sharks from Puerto Rico and the Jets from New York City who ultimately settle their disputes only after a tragic incident caused by forbidden love.

The musical was made into a successful movie in 1961, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as Maria and Tony respectively.

4. The famous musical about a Cockney flower girl and her attempts at elocution could have been called "Beautiful Dame Associated with Yours Truly". But it wasn't. What is the actual name of this musical?

Answer: My Fair Lady

Based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play "Pygmalion", "My Fair Lady" is the tale of a cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle who finds herself the subject of a bet by Henry Higgins, a phoneticist who thinks he can turn her into an upper class lady. It debuted on Broadway in 1956.

In 1964, a movie version was made, starring Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins. Rex Harrison was actually reprising the role that he made famous in the original Broadway run of the musical.

5. "Warbling Within the Precipitation" would have been a good name for a 1952 movie musical starring and co-directed by Gene Kelly, but what did they actually call it?

Answer: Singin' in the Rain

"Singin' in the Rain" (1952) was a lighthearted look at 1920s Hollywood, during the period that silent movies became redundant in favour of 'talking pictures'. Starring Gene Kelly, Jean Hagen, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, it was co-directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donan.

The famous song "Singin' in the Rain" was taken from the "Hollywood Revue of 1929", one of MGM's first movie musicals.

6. A 1975 cult movie musical written and starred in by Richard O'Brien could be called "The Stony Fright Motion Feature", but it isn't. What is its actual name?

Answer: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) starred Tim Curry as Dr Frank N. Furter, a mad, transvestite scientist from the planet Transylvania, who sought to create the perfect man. Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick starred as a young couple who broke down on a lonely road and chanced upon Frank N. Furter whilst looking for a phone.

The musical has become a major cult classic, especially in the United Kingdom, where people dress up and bring props to watch the show on stage or on movie screens.

7. "The Reverberation Made by Noises Combined to Produce Pleasing Notes and Tones" could have been the chosen name for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about a trainee nun and seven children. Unfortunately it's not. What is that musical actually called?

Answer: The Sound of Music

"The Sound of Music" originated as a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that premiered on Broadway in 1959. It is based on the true story of Maria Von Trapp, and tells the story of a trainee nun in Austria who become a governess to a retired Naval captain's seven children and eventually fell in love with him. The story also deals with the 1930s rise of Nazism in Europe and culminates in a daring escape by the Von Trapp family over the Alps to Switzerland.

In 1965, the musical was adapted into an Oscar winning film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

8. "A Heptad of Female Honeymooners Approaching a Septenary of Fraternal Siblings" is an alternative way of saying the title of a 1954 movie musical starring Howard Keel. What is it actually called?

Answer: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954) was based on Stephen Benet's short story "Sobbin Women", which itself is based on the Ancient Roman story of the rape of the Sabine Women. The musical tells the tale of Adam Pontipee, who finds a bride (Milly) in town and expects her to care for him and his six brothers in the mountains. Milly successfully teaches the brothers to dance and attract women, but their solution to the reluctance of the women's fathers to allow them to court the brothers is to kidnap them for the winter.

The musical has successfully been adapted for stage a number of times and debuted on Broadway in 1982.

9. "A New World Inhabitant Surrounded by the City of Light" is just another way of describing which 1951 movie musical starring Gene Kelly?

Answer: An American in Paris

Gene Kelly starred as a World War 2 veteran who went to live in Paris, hoping to make it as an artist, in the 1951 movie musical "An American in Paris". His love interest, Lise, was played by Leslie Caron. Much of the music was written by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.

The first stage version this musical was not undertaken until 2008.

10. If I told you I was watching a musical called "The Monarch of the Most Gigantic Felines", what would I actually be seeing?

Answer: The Lion King

The stage musical version of "The Lion King" is based on Disney's 1994 film of the same name. Its music was written by Elton John and it premiered on Broadway in 1997. The plot centres around a lion cub, Simba, as he grows up and becomes king after defeating his uncle Scar in an epic battle for the crown.

Source: Author suzidunc

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
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Musicals, in Other Words Trivia Quiz

Writers spend hours, days and even weeks trying to come up with a catchy title for their work, so it's probably a bit unfair that I have taken titles of some of the world's greatest musicals and made them much more cumbersome!

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