The Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Chorale

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A Broadway Quiz

Published on .

Ready for a quiz? When it comes to Broadway, just how much do you know? If your pencil is ready, here we go! You'll find the answers after the questions. Don't peek!

  1. What is the longest-running show on Broadway?
  2. We don't normally think of the Pulitzer Prize when it comes to Broadway musicals. But at least one production has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Can you name it?
  3. Which Broadway musical is adapted from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
  4. Put these productions in order of their appearance on Broadway:
       Carousel
       The Music Man
       Fiddler on the Roof
       South Pacific
  5. What popular Broadway production borrows its story line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

So, how did you do? Here are the answers:

  1. The longest-running Broadway show (and it's still running) is Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. To date, there have been more than 12,000 performances!
  2. Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950. There have been a handful of other musicals that have won the award—most recently, Hamilton.
  3. The answer is Spamalot, which like Monty Python, is a parody on the legend of King Arthur. And if you're thinking, "I just don't get the humor in shows like Monty Python," well, you're not alone! It takes a special kind of person! But enough about that!
  4. In order of appearance: Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The Music Man (1957), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964).
  5. In a masterful re-telling of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is set in 1950s New York City. The setting may be modern, but the audience can easily see Shakespeare's tragic story unfold.

Maybe this little quiz has whetted your appetite for hearing some of the wonderful tunes from these Broadway productions! Here's some good news: music from each of these shows (and others) will be featured in the Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Chorale's spring concert Some Enchanted Evening: Favorites from Broadway. The Chorale, Ensemble, and selected soloists will present an evening of some of the memorable tunes from over the years on Broadway.

We hope you'll plan now to be in our audience! The concerts will be Friday, May 12 at 7:30 pm, and Saturday, May 13 at 3:00 pm at College Church in Wheaton. For more information, see the details on this website!

Greg Wheatley
Music Director, Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Chorale