Let’s Get Quizzical: Musicals

It’s time for another quiz, and this time, it’s all about musicals! From broadway to the west end to musical movies, these are the questions that’ll get you thinking...and maybe even singing! Answers below...

QUESTIONS

1. Which musical was inspired by a 1989 film starring Winona Ryder? 

a) Heathers

b) The Book of Mormon

c) Little Shop of Horrors

d) Avenue Q

2. How many Oscars has Andrew Llyod Webber won?

a) Three

b) Fifteen

c) One

d) Seven

3. Which Shakespearean play inspired West Side Story?

a) Romeo and Juliet

b) Macbeth

c) A Midsummer Night’s Dream

d) Much Ado About Nothing

4. In which musical does teenager Tracy Turnblad break the mould when she auditions to dance on The Corny Collins Show?

a) Wicked

b) Hairspray

c) La La Land

d) Legally Blonde

5. What is the longest running musical on the West End?

a) The Phantom of the Opera

b) Cats

c) The Lion King

d) Les Misérables 

6. What musical features the song My Shot?

a) Blood Brothers

b) Matilda

c) Hamilton

d) The Producers

7. In Mamma Mia, how many dads does lead character Sophie have?

a) One

b) Four

c) Two

d) Three

8. What musical is based on a book by Gregory Maguire?

a) Wicked

b) The Color Purple

c) Ragtime

d) Oliver Twist

9. What character was played by Renée Zellweger in the movie adaptation of Chicago?

a) Velma Kelly

b) Matron

c) Roxie Hart

d) Mary Sunshine

10. Which musical tells the story of two drag queens and a transgender woman who are contracted to perform a drag show at Alice Springs?

a) Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

b) Kinky Boots

c) Dear Evan Hansen

d) Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

ANSWERS

1. The answer is a) Heathers!

Heathers is a rock musical created by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy. After a sold-out Los Angeles tryout, the show moved Off-Broadway in 2014. The show then had an Off-West End run in 2018 and then transferred to the West End in 2018 for a limited engagement. While the show is a high-energy black comedy, it opens conversations about dark issues, including bullying, teen suicide, sexual assault, and school violence.

2. The answer is c) One!

Andrew Lloyd Webber has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He has also gained a number of honours, and numerous awards from theater to film, but only one Oscar, for best original song, in Evita. 

3. The answer is a) Romeo and Juliet!

West Side Story is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. 

4. The answer is b) Hairspray!

Hairspray is an American musical, based on John Waters's 1988 film of the same name. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration.

5. The answer is d) Les Misérables!

Les Mis debuted in Paris in September 1980, before arriving in London’s West End on October 8 1985. Based on Victor Hugo’s novel and set in Revolutionary-era France, Les Misérables is the story of former convict Jean Valjean and his quest for redemption. Its first three-month engagement at Barbican Theatre sold out, and the show has been running continuously in the West End ever since!

6. The answer is c) Hamilton!

Hamilton is an American musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton using hip hop, R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes. It also has a very diverse cast, casting majority non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures.

7. The answer is d) Three!

At the start of Mamma Mia!, Sophie is introduced as a bride-to-be who is determined to have her real father walk her down the aisle at her wedding. The only problem is, she doesn’t know who that is. According to her mother, her father could be one of three men; Bill Anderson, Harry Bright, and Sam Carmichael.

8. The answer is a) Wicked!

Wicked the musical is based on the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an American novel published in 1995, and written by Gregory Maguire. The novel is a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil and takes place in the Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West. 

9. The answer is c) Roxie Hart!

In the 2002 film adaptation of the musical Chicago, Roxie is played by Renée Zellweger. Chicago centers on Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) two murderers who find themselves in jail together awaiting trial in 1920s Chicago. Roxie, a housewife, and Velma, a vaudevillian, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows.

10. The answer is a) Priscilla, Queen of the Desert!

Priscilla the musical is based off a 1994 film of the same name. The musical tells the story of two drag queens and a transgender woman in Australia, who head west from Sydney to Alice Springs aboard their lavender bus, to perform a drag show. The three friends come to the forefront of a comedy of errors, encountering a number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while widening comfort zones and finding new horizons.