Community Contributor

Community

Can Your Broadway Knowledge Get You Through This A-Z Quiz?

It opened on Broadway in 1934, and went on to have numerous revivals with two film adaptations and one television adaptation.

_Anything Goes_

This musical is written by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. It opened on Broadway in 2011 with Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad, Nikki M. James, Rory O'Malley, and Brian Tyree Henry among others, and is still currently running at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

_The Book of Mormon_

This brilliant musical written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein takes place a week following the events of 9/11, during the events of Operation Yellow Ribbon in Canada. The musical opened on Broadway in 2017 and is still running at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

_Come From Away_

Written by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, this musical pays homage to 1970's disaster movies. It ran from February 9 - May 8, 2016, just a day away from three full months, staging 72 regular performances. Fun fact: Kerry Butler is in this musical. She later went on to originate the role of Ms. Norbury/Mrs. George/Mrs. Heron in _Mean Girls_. After she left the show, the role was given to Jennifer Simmard, who is also cast alongside Butler in this musical.

_Disaster_

Adapted from the iconic 2003 film, _Elf_ ran for two Christmases: 2010-11 and 2012-13. In 2014, NBC broadcast a stop-motion animated adaptation starring Jim Parsons and Kate Micucci.

_Elf_

Written by William Finn and James Lapine, this mostly sung-through musical (with music and lyrics by Finn) is the epitome of proper Jewish representation. Also, plus points for having LGBTQ characters. A pro-shot of the 2016 revival starring Andrew Rannells and Christian Borle is available for stream on [Amazon Prime](https://www.amazon.com/Falsettos-Christian-Borle/dp/B075YZTJ11).

_Falsettos_

_Guys and Dolls_ has seen many revivals, but originally opened on Broadway in 1950. A film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine was released in 1955.

_Guys and Dolls_

If Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth, and Jennifer Hudson's NBC live televised adaptation doesn't ring a bell, maybe Matthew Morrison and Kerry Butler's original Broadway show from 2002 will. Or maybe, Zac Efron, John Travolta, and Queen Latifah's 2007 film adaptation does? Also, did you know the most original rendition of _Hairspray_ is the 1988 non-musical movie starring Divine?

(It's) _Hairspray_

Set in a Dominican-American neighborhood, the musical runs over the course of three days. _In The Heights_ has seen productions all over the world across more than ten countries. A film adaptation starring Lin-Manuel Miranda was slated to release June 2020, but was moved to 2021.

_In The Heights_

It's a rock opera loosely based on the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ. It made it to Broadway in 1971; Webber's other "J" musical _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_ in 1982, and _Jeeves_ in 2001. A live concert was broadcast by NBC in 2018, starring John Legend as Jesus, Alice Cooper as King Herod, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, and Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene.

_Jesus Christ Superstar_

_The King and I_ opened on Broadway in 1951 with a film adaptation in 1956, receiving one Tony Best Musical awards and two Best Revival of a Musical; one in 1996 and another in 2015.

_The King and I_

\- K -  
Name a musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein beginning with K  


Written by Adam Guettel, this musical opened on Broadway in 2005 and is based on a 1960 novel of the same name. It follows young and disabled Clara and her mother Margaret as they move to Italy in 1950.

_The Light in the Piazza_

\- L -  
Name a show Kelli O'Hara has starred in beginning with this letter  


Based on 2004 iconic movie, this fetch musical is once again written by Tina Fey, with her husband Jeff Richmond working on music and Nell Benjamin on lyrics. It is currently running at the August Wilson Theatre.  
Other movie-to-musicals beginning with M include _Mary Poppins, Meet Me in St. Louis_, and _Moulin Rouge_.

_Mean Girls_ is one of them!

\- M -  
Name a Broadway musical based on a movie that starts with M  


_Newsies_ originated as a film in 1992, which is based on t 1899 NYC Newsboys Strike, and made its Broadway debut in 20 years later. It is written by Harvey Fierstein, with music by Disney veteran Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman.

_Newsies_

\- N -  
Which musical is available on Disney+?  


Set in the French Antilles archipelago, it follows peasant girl Ti Moune as she tries to unite the people of her island. The book and lyrics are written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty provided music. It made its debut way back in 1990.

_Once on This Island_

\- O -  
This musical is set in the Carribean Sea.  


Making its debut on Broadway a little while ago in 2018, _The Prom_ follows Emma Nolan as she fights for her rights to bring her girlfriend Alyssa Greene. Its Macy's Thanksgiving Parade performance marked the first LGBTQ kiss in the history of the event.

_The Prom_

\- P -  
Ryan Murphy is doing a Netflix adaptation of which musical?  


Although the debut of _Six_ was postponed due to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic, it is shown at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, featuring England's own Henry VIII's six ex-wives.

_Six_

\- Q -  
Which musical features the queens of England?  


Inspired by 80's rock, _Rock of Ages_ incorporates songs by Journey, Styx, Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi, and Steve Perry, among other rock artists. It made its debut on Broadway in 2009 with a film adaptation made 3 years later.

_Rock of Ages_

\- R -  
Which R musical is a rock jukebox musical?  


_The Sound of Music_ is arguably one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most well-known musical.  
Other stage-to-film musicals include _Sweeney Todd: The Demon of Barber Fleet, Singin' in the Rain, Silk Stockings_, and another R&H musical, _South Pacific_.

_The Sound of Music_ is one of them!

\- S -  
There are a few S musicals that are adapted into film from stage. Name one.  


It opened on Broadway in 2006, 7 years after the animated feature first hit theaters. Nine new songs were added from the movie by original music and lyrics writer Phil Collins. It features that one song where it always hits home, "You'll Be In My Heart".

_Tarzan_!

\- T -  
Disney has brought many stage productions to Broadway, but only one starts with T but not with a "The". What is it?  


Mark Hollmann's _Urinetown_ is one of the four Broadway production titles starting with U, the other three being Jason Robert Brown and Jeff Blumenkrantz's _Urban Cowboy_, Meredith Willson's _The Unsinkable Molly Brown_, and Clark Gesner's _The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall_.

_Urinetown_ is one of the more recent ones!

\- U -  
Broadway has only seen four productions starting with U. Can you name one?  


Reusing material from the original 2013 movie, this song is half of the opening number, the other half being "Let the Sun Shine On", which in turn uses scrapped material from the movie. Frozen is Disney's latest stage adaptation and is currently running at the St. James Theatre.

_Frozen_

\- V -  
Which musical opens with the number "Vuelie"?  


Having opened on Broadway back in 2003, _Wicked_ is one of the two longest-running shows in Broadway history to still be running at the theatre it originally debuted at (which is the Gershwin Theatre), the other one being _The Phantom of the Opera_.  
Fun fact: Caissie Levy and Patti Murin, the original Broadway cast of Elsa and Anna in _Frozen_, have portrayed Elphaba and Glinda respectively, although on different productions.

_Wicked_

\- W -  
This musical has been running for more than 10 years in the same theatre.  


Based on the 1980 film of the same name, _Xanadu_ opened in 2007 with Cheyenne Jackson, Kerry Butler, and Jackie Hoffman in the cast, among others.

_Xanadu_

\- X -  
There's only one musical in history to have started with this letter.  


This musical is based on the comic strip _Peanuts_, the one that brought Snoopy to fame. It first was staged Off-Broadway in 1967 before making its Broadway debut in 1971.

_You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown_

\- Y -  
One of the only musicals based on a comic strip.  


And you thought _Dear Evan Hansen_ isn't included in this quiz? At this point, if you've never heard of this show, you're either not on the internet enough or you're living under a rock. Currently running at The Music Box, it originally opened on Broadway in 2016.

_Dear Evan Hansen_

\- Z -  
Zoe Murphy is a main character in this musical.  


You've probably seen the ultra popular, TikTok-famous shows like _Dear Evan Hansen, Six, Shrek, Hamilton_, and _Les Misérables_, and that's okay! You've come so far, but you've still got so far to go.

Broadway newbie

Aaron Burr said "smile more", but I say "watch more". You probably know classics like _West Side Story, Phantom, Les Mis, Wicked, and The Sound of Music_ and modernly famous ones like _Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, Legally Blonde_, and _Mean Girls_, but do you know everything in between?

Sort of knowledgeable-ish?

The Witch warned about being nice, but what's wrong with it? You have a handful of Broadway knowledge, and it's pretty good! But, why settle for nice when you can be good?

You're just nice

One word: Satisfied. You've probably been to NYC or West End, or maybe you've seen national or international tours or regional productions, or you've spent too much time on YouTube searching for slime tutorials! Heck, maybe you've been in a production yourself! Whatever it is, the Angel of Music has promised you a blessing.

The Angel of Music is satisfied!

#OBSESSED indeed! You've defied gravity and become part of that world, you've heard the bells and waved through the window, you've met the plastics and climbed every mountain! Time to revel in this fact and sing the music of the night!

Are you a Broadway star?

About BuzzFeed Community

Community Brand Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community

Sorry, this content is <i>no longer</i> supported.

BuzzFeed Community Guidelines

BuzzFeed Community Leaderboard

BuzzFeed News has breaking stories and original reporting on politics, world news, social media, viral trends, health, science, technology, entertainment, and LGBTQ issues.

All the best animals on the internet. The snuggle is real.

BuzzFeed has breaking news, vital journalism, quizzes, videos, celeb news, Tasty food videos, recipes, DIY hacks, and all the trending buzz you’ll want to share with your friends. Copyright BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.

BuzzFeed News | Breaking News | Original Reporting | News Analysis

Animal Pictures and Videos - Adorably from BuzzFeed

Name

Thanks for subscribing!

Stay up to date with our latest BuzzFeed video. Enter your email to subscribe!

Oops! Upload an image or add text to submit.

BuzzFeed has the hottest, most social content on the web. We feature breaking buzz and the kinds of things you'd want to pass along to your friends.

Can Your Broadway Knowledge Get You Through This A-Z Quiz?

Share This Article