Musicals! Part 2 Quiz | Name the Musical

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 'Summertime' is both a classic jazz song and musical number immortalised by Ella Fitzgerald although it has been recorded over the decades by countless artists. But in which Gershwin musical did it debut?

Answer: Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess was the only opera written by the Gershwin brothers and 'Summertime' is technically an aria. However, following its opening in 1935 the song was recorded by the great Billie Holiday, who cemented this as one of the great jazz standards.

2. In which musical would you find 'Memory'?

Answer: Cats

Music written by Andrew Lloyd-Webber and lyrics by Trevor Nunn (his long-time partner Tim Rice was not involved in this project), 'Cats' ran for an incredible 21 years in London's West End and 18 years on Broadway.

Despite this, attempts to translate this theatrical extravaganza to the big screen proved to be damp squibs.

3. 'Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love' was an early success from the prolific pen of Cole Porter. In which stage show did it first appear?

Answer: Paris

Cole Porter started writing for musicals during the first world war but did not achieve his first big hit until 1928 with the musical 'Paris', which featured this immortal number. The song has subsequently been covered, re-worked and parodied many times over the years.

4. From which musical did the song 'Send in the Clowns' originate?

Answer: A Little Night Music

'A Little Night Music' premiered in 1973 and included this number which was made a hit by Judy Collins.

It has been covered numerous times by other performers including Krusty the Clown in an episode of 'The Simpsons'. All of the other answers offered here were also Sondheim compositions.

5. Bobby Darin had a hit around the world with his version of 'Mack the Knife', but from which musical/opera did it originate?

Answer: The Threepenny Opera

'Mack the Knife' was originally written in 1928 by Kurt Weill (music) and Berthold Brecht (lyrics).

In its original German the title was 'Die Moritat von Mackie Messer'.

The song gained popularity in 1955 after being recorded by Louis Armstrong, although the most popular recording was by Bobby Darin who also bagged a couple of Grammies for his efforts.

Of course 'The Threepenny Opera' was not an opera at all, whereas the other three options were.

6. 'Just One of Those Things' has been recorded many times over the years and remains popular to this day. In which Cole Porter musical did it first appear?

Answer: Jubilee

'Jubilee' was inspired by the silver jubilee of the British monarch George V. The musical opened in 1935. As well as this song, Jubilee is also notable for the song 'Begin the Beguine'.

7. Which musical first featured the song 'I am What I am'?

Answer: La Cage Aux Folles

Written by Jerry Herman, 'I am What I am' was recorded as a single by Gloria Gaynor and was one of her greatest hits.

Herman also penned the hugely successful musical 'Hello Dolly'.

When it premiered in 1983, 'La Cage Aux Folle's was ground-breaking, being the first Broadway musical to have a gay couple as its lead protagonists.

8. 'I Get a Kick Out of You' was first heard in which musical?

Answer: Anything Goes

Another Cole Porter masterclass. Apart from the famous eponymous number, 'Anything Goes' also features another Porter classic, 'You're the Top'. The genius of Cole Porter was that you could strip away all the lyrics and update or re-write the contemporary cultural references.

For example, 'Let's Do It's' lyrics were wittily re-written for British audiences by the great wordsmith Noel Coward whilst PG Wodehouse did the same to 'You're the Top' to include cultural references accessible to a 1930s' British audience.

In both cases, though, they retained the essential themes and structure of the songs. As always, genius is simplicity.

9. The defiant song 'Hey Look Me Over' has been covered many times, but came from which musical?

Answer: Wildcat

The music for 'Wildcat' was penned by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh.

The musical is notable as it was the only Broadway production in which Lucille Ball appeared. The star of TV's 'I Love Lucy' was one of the biggest show biz stars when the production opened in 1960.

Despite this the show opened to lukewarm reviews, partly because the songs penned for it had to accommodate Ball's limited vocal range.

When she fell ill audiences stayed away and the production closed in 1961 after 171 performances. The show subsequently vanished into obscurity, although this catchy number has stood the test of time.

10. 'I Got Rhythm' is a Gershwin classic that was originally written for which musical?

Answer: Girl Crazy

Written by George and Ira Gershwin and premiering in 1930, this musical enjoyed several incarnations over the years, crossing into popular theatre, movies, dance and several music genres.

In 1934 Gershwin turned the song into a concerto, 'Variations on I Got Rhythm'. The chords themselves are a well recognised part of the jazz repertoire.

As a musical, 'Girl Crazy' has an enduring legacy no less because of this seminal piece.

In more recent years the title has been changed to 'Crazy for You' although the contents remain fundamentally the same.

Source: Author Mightybear

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Musicals! Part 2 Trivia Quiz

As promised, here is part two of my ongoing musicals quiz. All you have to do is decide from which musical some of these great numbers came. Have fun!

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