Musicals

Question 1

Miss Saigon

Answer 1

final days of the Vietnam War is one of the highest grossing musicals ever. In the production, an American soldier named Chris falls in love with a bargirl named Kim in Saigon. Chris tries to bargain with the bar’s owner to earn her freedom.

Question 2

The Producers

Answer 2

Mel Brooks / Matthew Broderick / Nathan Lane

The whole show is a parody of Broadway producers that features sarcastic and satirical humor.

Question 3

Mary Poppins

Answer 3

Julie Andrews / Dick Van Dyke

Question 4

Hamilton

Answer 4

Lin Manuel Miranda

Question 5

Cats

Answer 5

Andrew Lloyd Webber

a tribe of cats called Jellicles. The most famous song to come from the production is, “Memory.”

Question 6

Book of Mormon

Answer 6

two Mormon missionaries who are intent on bringing the message of their religion to Uganda. The script, lyrics, and music were created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame and features the same type of satirical humor you can expect from the duo.

Question 7

Jersey Boys

Answer 7

Jersey Boys is a documentary-style performance that tells the story of the 1960s rock ‘n roll group The Four Seasons. Popular songs featured in the performance include “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry,” “December 1963 (Oh, What A Night),” “My Eyes Adored You,” “Stay,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Working My Way Back to You,” and “Rag Doll.” The show won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Question 8

Chicago

Answer 8

The original Broadways musical Chicago opened in 1975 and ran for 936 performances before closing in 1977. It was revived in 1996 and went on to become the second longest-running Broadway show of all time.

The story is based on a pair of women who were accused of homicide and the media spectacle that followed.

2002 movie won Oscar starring Zelwegger (Roxie Hart) /Zeta-Jones (Velmy Kelly)/ Gere (Billy Flynn) / Queen Latifah / Reilly

Question 9

Mamma Mia

Answer 9

Abba hits. Movie with Streep/Brosnan/Seyfried/Firth

Question 10

Phantom of the Opera

Answer 10

Andrew Lloyd Webber

beautiful soprano who becomes obsessed with a disfigured musical genius who lives in a labyrinth underneath the Paris Opera House. It opened on Broadway in 1986 and celebrated its 10,000th performance in 2012 – a feat no other show ever achieved.

Question 11

Wicked

Answer 11

This alternative telling of The Wizard of Oz focuses on The Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and Galinda the good witch (who later changes her name to Glinda). It’s one of the only three Broadway shows to earn more than $1 billion and remains the second most successful of all time. It’s still running now.

Question 12

Lion King

Answer 12

The highest grossing musical of all time? That would be The Lion King, another Disney adaptation. Filled with catchy songs and appealing to audiences of all ages, the production won numerous Tony Awards including Best Picture and is one of only three shows to earn more than $1 billion.

Question 13

West Side Story

Answer 13

Adaption of Romeo and Juliet, Jets vs Sharks. Upper west side Manhattan. Lyrics by Steven Sondheim / Tony and Maria

Question 14

Jesus Christ Superstar

Answer 14

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera re-told the story of Jesus’ last week of life in the most Seventies way possible. The controversial musical, which debuted in 1970, highlighted the tension between Jesus and Judas in a modern way that was as loud and brazen as the rock music topping the charts and youth culture shepherding in a new decade at the time.

Question 15

Tommy

Answer 15

The Broadway adaptation of the Who’s epic 1969 rock opera Tommy gave new life to the tale of a deaf, dumb and blind boy who turns out to be a pinball wizard. It tied up the loose ends of the more ambiguous album and brought the classic Sixties rock opera into the Nineties. At the Tony Awards, Pete Townshend ended up nabbing a trophy for Best Original Score.

Question 16

Cabaret

Answer 16

Set in the grungy Kit Kat Klub amidst the rise of Nazi power in Berlin, Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret centered on the tale of Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw, respectively an English performer and American writer who meet in the club. Growing unrest threatens their relationship as the jaunty, flamboyant performances as directed by the Emcee propel the escapist feelings of those attached to the nightclub. The show originally hit Broadway in 1966, but its 1998 revival conceived and directed by Sam Mendes has become the the most iconic incarnation, burnishing the stars of Natasha Richardson and Alan Cumming, while also becoming the third longest-running Broadway revival of all time.

Question 17

Rent

Answer 17

Rent shepherded in a new type of theater experiences, reflecting the health and money crises of the late Eighties and early Nineties. Based on the opera La Bohème, and set in New York City’s East Village, it told the story of a diverse group of friends and artists struggle with inspiration, HIV/AIDS and paying the rent. Jonathan Larson’s inventive book, music and lyrics set a new precedent for what musical theater could sound like, creating a pop-rock musical that was radio friendly and could appeal to new generations of potential fans.

Question 18

The Rocky Horror Show

Answer 18

The film adaptation of Rocky Horror (Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon) has become one of the most identifiable versions of the story of sweet transvestite Dr. Frank N. Furter and his ghoulish home that sucks in vanilla couple Brad and Janet, but the same year that the film flopped at cinemas, the stage show lived a short life in New York City. Prior to 1975, The Rocky Horror Show had been a hit in London and Los Angeles, making it seem like New York audiences were ready for the extravagantly weird sci-fi adventure. Like the film adaptation, the stage version took some time to become a cult favorite and made it back to Broadway in 2000 and featured a host of celebrities taking on the classic roles, including Joan Jett, Sebastian Bach, Luke Perry, Dick Cavett and more.

Question 19

Guys and Dolls

Answer 19

Set in a gritty underworld of gambling, Guys and Dolls carries an incredible sense of humor and charm. It premiered on Broadway in 1950 originally and has returned almost every decade since, starring everyone from Vivian Blaine in the original production, to Nathan Lane and Peter Gallagher in the 1992 revival and Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham in the 2009 revival.

Question 20

A Chorus Line

Answer 20

A Chorus Line is the meta Broadway hit of the Seventies, highlighting the tales of dancers as they prepare for an audition and explore their personal histories. In 1976, the show was a near-sweep at the Tony Awards, winning for Best Musical, Best Choreography and in acting categories as well. It also took home the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Its original run became one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, beat out only by Cats.

Question 21

A Chorus Line

Answer 21

A Chorus Line is the meta Broadway hit of the Seventies, highlighting the tales of dancers as they prepare for an audition and explore their personal histories. In 1976, the show was a near-sweep at the Tony Awards, winning for Best Musical, Best Choreography and in acting categories as well. It also took home the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Its original run became one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, beat out only by Cats.

Question 22

The Colour Purple

Answer 22

Celie / Nettie - book by Alice Walker

Question 23

Fiddler on the Roof

Answer 23

set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on Tevye (Chaim Topol) and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, who attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his family’s lives. He must cope with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters who wish to marry for love; their choices of husbands are successively less palatable for Tevye. An edict of the Tsar eventually evicts the Jews from their village.

Question 24

Dreamgirls

Answer 24

Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,[1] the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called “The Dreams”, who become music superstars.

It was later adapted into a motion picture from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures in 2006. The film starred Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson.

Question 25

Hello Dolly

Answer 25

The musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder.

Louis Armstrong also was featured in the film version of the show, performing a small part of the song “Hello, Dolly!”.

Question 26

Oklahoma!

Answer 26

Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)

The musical is based on Lynn Riggs’ 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.

Question 27

Singing in the Rain

Answer 27

Mostly known from the film with Gene Kelly. a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to “talkies”.

It focuses on romantic lead Don Lockwood, his sidekick Cosmo Brown, aspiring actress Kathy Selden, and Lockwood’s leading lady Lina Lamont, whose less-than-dulcet vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in talking pictures.

Question 28

My Fair Lady

Answer 28

My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle (played by Julie Andrews), a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. Despite his cynical nature, Higgins falls in love with her.

Question 29

Sunset Boulevard

Answer 29

music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 1950 film of the same title. (William Holden, Gloria Swanson)

The plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles street. When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her return to the big screen, with romance and tragedy to follow.

Question 30

The Wiz

Answer 30

It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) in the context of contemporary African-American culture.

Question 31

The King and I

Answer 31

Rodgers and Hammerstein

British schoolteacher falls in love with king of Siam.

Starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner

Question 32

South Pacific

Answer 32

Rodgers and Hammerstein

US nurse falls for rich French expat plantation owner. US marine falls for islander woman.

Question 33

Sound of Music

Answer 33

Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Von Trapp / Julie Andrews / Christopher Plummer

Question 34

Carousel

Answer 34

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Carousel barker Billy Bigelow falls for millworker Julie Jordan