Match Musicals to Partnership Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kander & Ebb

"Chicago" is a musical first staged in 1975, with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, who also directed and choreographed. Set in a vaudeville style, it follows married chorus girl Roxie Hart, who murders her lover and uses the media, with the help of lawyer Billy Flynn, to gain celebrity and secure an acquittal. Songs include "All That Jazz", "Cell Block Tango", and "Razzle Dazzle".

Answer: Lerner & Loewe

"My Fair Lady", based on "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw, has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. It premiered in 1956 and had a record breaking run called out in added lines to contemporary interpretations of Rogers and Hart's 1925 song "Manhattan": "And 'My Fair Lady', Is a terrific show they say, We both may see it close, Some Day".

Similarly to the wealthy businessmen in "Trading Places" the plot concerns the attempt by phonetician Professor Henry Higgins to win a wager with a colleague that he can coach a flower girl, Eliza Doolittle so she can pass as a lady. Of course they fall in love. Songs include: "With a Little Bit of Luck", "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?", and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face".

Answer: Rodgers & Hammerstein

"Carousel" is a 1945 musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on the play "Liliom" by the Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnar.

The story concerns Billy Bigelow, a carnival barker who falls for a millworker called Julie. They marry, and he leaves the carnival, but he's a poor husband - beating Julie regularly. Billy falls in with a criminal friend, and they attempt a robbery. It goes wrong, and Billy stabs himself. Fifteen years later an official from heaven tells him he won't get into heaven unless he can help his daughter. He returns to earth for one day to make amends with his wife and daughter. Songs include "You'll Never Walk Alone", "If I Loved You", and "June Is Bustin' Out All Over".

Answer: Lerner & Loewe

"Brigadoon" is a 1947 musical with book & lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.

Two American men, Tommy and Jeff, on a hunting tour in Scotland, stumble upon a village that was not on their maps. They discover it's under a spell so that it only appears for one day every century. Tommy falls for Brigadoon native Fiona, and she with him. If any of the locals leave the village the spell will be broken, but Tommy could stay. After some twists and turns he decides not to, but later changes his mind, and his love causes the village to make an unscheduled reappearance. Songs include "The Heather on the Hill", "Almost Like Being in Love", and "From This Day On".

Answer: Lloyd Webber & Rice

"Evita" is a 1978 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics & book by Tim Rice. It is based on the true story of Eva Peron, who rose from poverty to becoming enormously popular as the First Lady of Argentina.

The musical depicts Eva's rise through the force of her ambition and her use of men who she discarded when they were no longer of use, culminating with her relationship with Juan Peron, who became President of Argentina in 1946, the year after their marriage. Songs include "Oh What a Circus", "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina".

Answer: Lloyd Webber & Rice

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is a 1972 Lloyd Webber and Rice musical, the first by the partnership to be performed in public. It is based on the Biblical tale from Genesis of Joseph, the son of Jacob.

Joseph is Jacob's favorite son, a fact symbolized by the gift from his father of a many-colored coat. His brothers resent this favoritism, and decide to kill him before relenting somewhat and selling him into slavery. Joseph rises within Egyptian society through his abilities, which include dream interpretation, and gets his revenge on his brothers. Songs include "Any Dream Will Do", "Poor, Poor Joseph", and "Close Every Door".

Answer: Kander & Ebb

"Cabaret" is a 1967 musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff. It is based on the play "I Am a Camera" by John Van Druten, itself adapted from Christopher Isherwood's novel "Goodbye to Berlin".

An American writer, Clifford Bradshaw, arrives in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, where he meets English cabaret singer Sally Bowles. As their relationship develops, Cliff becomes entangled in the city's seedy underworld and witnesses the rise of anti-Jewish discrimination. While he urges Sally to leave Berlin with him, she refuses. Songs include "Willkommen", "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", and "Maybe This Time".

Answer: Lloyd Webber & Rice

"Jesus Christ Superstar" is a 1971 sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It is based on the New Testament Gospels.

The story is told largely from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, who questions Jesus's growing influence and fears the reaction of the Romans. It follows the final days of Jesus's life, including the Last Supper, Judas's betrayal and death, the trial before Pontius Pilate, and the crucifixion. Songs include "I Don't Know How to Love Him", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)", and "Superstar".

Answer: Rodgers & Hammerstein

"Oklahoma!" is a ground-breaking musical from 1943, the first by the partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on a play by Lynn Riggs called "Green Grow the Lilacs".

Set in Oklahoma Territory in 1906, the story is of romance and jealousy, tension and fighting between cowboys and farmers, and the formation of a new state. Songs include "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'", "I Cain't Say No", and "People Will Say We're in Love".

Answer: Lerner & Loewe

"Camelot" is a 1960 musical by the partnership of Lerner and Loewe, based on the book "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White. It tells the story of the mythical English King Arthur.

The story is of King Arthur and his arranged marriage to Guenevere, how they meet with him being incognito, and his subsequent downfall due to her affair with Lancelot, and the machinations of Mordred. Arthur's advisor, the magician Merlin, who knew of future events, neglected to inform him of the threats before disappearing. Songs include "The Lusty Month of May", "How To Handle a Woman", and "If Ever I Would Leave You".

Answer: Lerner & Loewe

"Gigi" is a musical by Lerner and Loewe that was first an Academy Award winning film in 1958, and subsequently staged in 1973. It is based on the 1944 novel by Colette.

The story is set in Paris in 1900, and concerns a philanderer called Gaston, who has a string of mistresses, and Gigi, a young woman he forms a platonic relationship with, who is being groomed to be a courtesan. Her great aunt and tutor conspire together to make Gigi Gaston's next mistress. After some twists and turns ultimately the young pair realise they are in love and marry. Songs include "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", "The Night They Invented Champagne", and "I Remember It Well".

Answer: Rodgers & Hammerstein

"South Pacific" is a 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, based on the book "Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener. The musical was a great commercial success, while tackling the subject of racism in a way that was highly unusual for mainstream culture at the time.

Nellie, an American nurse stationed on an island in the South Pacific during World War II develops a relationship with Emile, a French ex-pat widower who has mixed-race children. She is horrified and breaks off the relationship. Joseph, a marine, falls for Liat, a young Tonkinese woman. Emile and Joseph take part in a dangerous military mission against the Japanese. Only one of them returns. Songs include "Some Enchanted Evening", "There Is Nothing Like a Dame", and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught".

Answer: Rodgers & Hammerstein

"The Sound of Music" is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that was first staged in 1959. It is based on the memoir "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers" by Maria von Trapp.

The story is of a postulant called Maria, in Salzburg, Austria, who, to answer some questions about whether she should dedicate her life to becoming a nun, takes a job as a governess for a widower and his seven children. The father, Captain von Trapp, a naval man, runs his family on militaristic lines, summoning his children with individual whistles, and frowning on fun and frivolity. The children behave badly, clearly seeking their father's attention.

Feelings develop, the Anschluss happens, Maria brings song and warmth to the family, and they all have to escape the Nazis by crossing the mountains to Switzerland. Songs include "My Favorite Things", "Sixteen Going on Seventeen", and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain".

Answer: Kander & Ebb

"Kiss of the Spider Woman" is a 1992 Kander & Ebb musical, with the book by Terrence McNally. It is based on Manuel Puig's 1976 novel.

Set in 1970s Argentina during the right-wing military dictatorship, the story concerns Molina, a homosexual man who has been imprisoned for corrupting a minor. He has a rich fantasy life to avoid reality, centered on a woman called Aurora, a diva who plays many roles, including the deadly Spiderwoman. Molina's cellmate, Valentin, is a political prisoner, tortured for his revolutionary activities. For all their differences, the two men develop a relationship despite the attempts of the authorities to manipulate them. Songs include "She's a Woman", "Gimme Love", and "Anything for Him".

Answer: Kander & Ebb

"New York, New York" is a 2023 Kander & Ebb musical, with additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Fred Ebb died in 2004), and book by David Thompson and Sharon Washington. It is based very loosely on the 1977 movie by Martin Scorsese.

Set in 1946, the story follows various people in New York who are trying to succeed as musical performers. The main characters are Francine, a black singer from Philadelphia, and Jimmy, an aspiring bandleader with an Irish background, who is working as an audition pianist. Songs include "I'm What's Happening Now", "Music, Money, Love", and the beloved title song.