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Sondheim Stephen Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Sondheim Stephen Quizzes, Trivia

Stephen Sondheim Trivia

Stephen Sondheim Trivia Quizzes

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'West Side Story', 'Gypsy', 'Sweeney Todd', 'Into the Woods' - these musical classics all have their won categories where the quizzes focus on a single show. Here you will find quizzes that cover multiple shows graced by Sondheim's music.
8 Stephen Sondheim quizzes and 80 Stephen Sondheim trivia questions.
1.
  Stephen Sondheim Musicals   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Stephen Sondheim passed away in 2021, leaving an incredible musical legacy behind. Can you find the missing words from this selection of Sondheim musicals?
Easier, 10 Qns, reedy, Feb 23 22
Easier
reedy gold member
Feb 23 22
454 plays
2.
  Which Sondheim show is that?   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I'll give you a tidbit (a lyric, a song, a character, a line, etc.) from one of four Sondheim shows: "A Little Night Music", "Into the Woods", "Assassins", or "Sweeney Todd". Simply choose the correct show.
Average, 10 Qns, Puzzgal, Jan 05 12
Average
Puzzgal
828 plays
3.
  Simply Sondheim    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I love Sondheim...I can never get enough of him, so I don't think anyone else can either. Take this quiz and see if you have the stuff to beat a Sondheim nerd.
Average, 10 Qns, Queen Michelle, Mar 09 16
Average
Queen Michelle
1001 plays
4.
  Sondheim Lyrics    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Stephen Sondheim has written some of the most innovative and brilliant lyrics of any musical theater composer. How well do you know his work?
Average, 10 Qns, kkaufman, Mar 31 10
Average
kkaufman
330 plays
5.
  Name the Sondheim Show    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
So you think you know your Sondheim? Can you pick the show given just a brief phrase from the lyrics? Good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, spod, Jan 10 08
Average
spod
465 plays
6.
  Sondheim 101    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here's a little fun about Stephen Sondheim's musicals. Hope you have fun with these. They are not too hard.
Average, 10 Qns, malizma, May 21 23
Average
malizma
May 21 23
1693 plays
7.
  Complete the Sondheim Lyric    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I will give you a lyric from a show for which Sondheim was responsible for either the music, lyrics, or both, and you fill in the missing word(s).
Tough, 10 Qns, rattiemama, Apr 19 09
Tough
rattiemama
520 plays
8.
  A Simple Sondheim Assessment    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Stephen Sondheim is perhaps the single most important person in Broadway history, so what can you tell me about this composer and lyricist?
Average, 10 Qns, anthonyrappfan, Aug 07 07
Average
anthonyrappfan
541 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Who said this? "I was raised to be charming, not sincere."

From Quiz "Who Said It? - "Into the Woods""




Related Topics
  Gypsy [Humanities] (3 quizzes)

  Into The Woods [Humanities] (28 quizzes)

  Sunday in the Park with George [Humanities] (3 quizzes)

  Sweeney Todd [Humanities] (8 quizzes)

  West Side Story - The Musical [Humanities] (2 quizzes)


Stephen Sondheim Trivia Questions
1. Finish the lyric: "Me as a _____________." "Me as King Lear."

From Quiz Sondheim Lyrics

Answer: merry-go-round

This exchange is from 'Send in the Clowns (reprise)' in "A Little Night Music," sung by Desiree and Frederik. In the original Broadway cast (1973), Glynis Johns and Len Cariou played the reunited lovers. More recently, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alexander Hanson sang this classic in the 2009 revival.

2. In which show would you hear the line "Whatever you can do with them, she's done"?

From Quiz Name the Sondheim Show

Answer: Follies

This is from the song "The Story of Lucy and Jessie", which is Phyllis' number in the Follies sequence at the end of the show. For the 1987 London revival, it was replaced with "Ah, but Underneath!", performed by Diana Rigg.

3. In which show would you find the song "Every Day a Little Death"?

From Quiz Which Sondheim show is that?

Answer: A Little Night Music

This song is performed by Charlotte and Anne. They are commiserating about their cheating husbands.

4. Where was Sondheim born?

From Quiz A Simple Sondheim Assessment

Answer: New York City, New York

Stephen Joshua Sondheim was born to Herbert and Janet Sondheim on March 22, 1930. He grew up on the Upper West Side and later lived in Pennsylvania, where he met Oscar Hammerstein II, of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame.

5. 'Being Alive' comes from what Sondheim musical?

From Quiz Sondheim 101

Answer: Company

6. "________ Night" Which word completes the title of Stephen Sondheim's first musical, from 1954?

From Quiz Stephen Sondheim Musicals

Answer: Saturday

"Saturday Night" is based on the play "Front Porch in Flatbush" by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, who are also credited with 'book' alongside Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics. The musical was intended to be Sondheim's first show on Broadway, but when the lead producer Lemuel Ayers died in August of 1955, the show was cancelled. It would not see production until 1997, and that by the University of Birmingham. That same year in December it would finally see a professional production in London. The story takes place in Brooklyn in 1929 as a group of friends dream of getting out of their neighbourhood and into the high society of Manhattan. But only Gene makes any real efforts in that regard.

7. Finish the lyric: "I feared you'd never come, that you'd been called away, that you'd been killed, had the plague, were _____________, trampled by a horse, gone to sea again, arrested by the..."

From Quiz Sondheim Lyrics

Answer: in debtor's jail

This list is from 'Kiss Me' in "Sweeney Todd," sung by Johanna. Sarah Rice sang this line (in counterpoint to Victor Garber's Anthony) in the original Broadway cast (1979). In the 2005 revival, Lauren Molina and Benjamin Magnuson played the troubled lovers.

8. What phrase is missing in this lyric from "Follies?" "I dim the lights and ___________________."

From Quiz Complete the Sondheim Lyric

Answer: think about you

This one is from the song "Losing my Mind." The next lyric is, "Spend sleepless nights, to think about you. You said you loved me, or were you just being kind? Or am I losing my mind?"

9. Which show includes the line "This is the world I meant"?

From Quiz Name the Sondheim Show

Answer: Into the Woods

From the beginning of the Witch's "Lament" for her adopted daughter Rapunzel, where she bitterly regrets the fact that she couldn't keep Rapunzel safe in her tower.

10. In which show would you find the song "Poor Thing"?

From Quiz Which Sondheim show is that?

Answer: Sweeney Todd

This song is performed by Mrs. Lovett, who was originally played on Broadway by Angela Lansbury.

11. In what Sondheim musical can you find out about the "cookies"?

From Quiz Simply Sondheim

Answer: Anyone Can Whistle

This musical is considered a "successful failure." Although it only played on Broadway for 6 days, it is considered as one of Sondheim's best works.

12. Who sings 'Agony' in "Into The Woods"?

From Quiz Sondheim 101

Answer: Cindrella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince

These princes are trying to catch up with their princesses of choice.

13. "West Side ________" Before it won Best Picture as a 1961 film, which Sondheim (& Bernstein) musical opened on Broadway in 1957?

From Quiz Stephen Sondheim Musicals

Answer: Story

"West Side Story" was Stephen Sondheim's Broadway debut, credited as the lyricist on the musical, with Leonard Bernstein writing the music, book by Arthur Laurents, and Jerome Robbins coming up with the whole concept. And, of course, some credit also goes to William Shakespeare and "Romeo and Juliet" as the ultimate inspiration for the story. While the 1961 film would win Oscar gold for Best Picture (and nine other categories), the initial Broadway staging was nominated for six Tonys (including Best Musical), and only won in two categories (Best Choreography and Best Scenic Design).

14. Finish the lyric: "When the hero quits, then you're left ____________."

From Quiz Sondheim Lyrics

Answer: on your own

This line is from 'See What it Gets You' in "Anyone Can Whistle," sung by Fay. It was originally sung by Lee Remick in the 1964 original Broadway cast.

15. What is the repeated missing word in this line from "Gypsy?" "If mama was married we'd live in a house as _________ as __________ can be. Just mama, three ducks, five canaries, a mouse, two monkeys, one father, six turtles, and me."

From Quiz Complete the Sondheim Lyric

Answer: private

In the song "If Mama was Married" Louise is dreaming of a life settled down. Her notion that such a full house would be private is amusing.

16. In which show does a character sing "Too busy to know that they're fools"?

From Quiz Name the Sondheim Show

Answer: Company

From the wonderful "The Ladies Who Lunch", where the acerbic Joanne, armed with her vodka stingers, reflects on the different ways of being a married woman. This line refers to "the girls who play wife".

17. Which show features the song "Unworthy of Your Love"?

From Quiz Which Sondheim show is that?

Answer: Assassins

This song is performed by John Hinckley and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. It is a song of unwavering devotion: Hinckley is singing to Jodie Foster and Fromme is singing to Charles Manson.

18. Which other musical theatre lyricist was Sondheim's mentor?

From Quiz A Simple Sondheim Assessment

Answer: Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Hammerstein II was a famous musical theatre lyricist whose credits include "Oklahoma!", "South Pacific" and "Carousel". Hammerstein died in 1960 of cancer, having won six Tony Awards for his work.

19. Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park With George" is based on the life of this painter.

From Quiz Simply Sondheim

Answer: Seurat & George Seurat & Georges Seurat

Seurant was a painter who pioneered a unique technique based on creating a picture from small dots of color. The musical tells of his work getting in the way of his love and its repercussions through generations.

20. Who was a member of the original cast, and played Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in the stage musical "Sweeney Todd"?

From Quiz Sondheim 101

Answer: Len Cariou

Len Cariou won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd.

21. "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ________" What word completes the title of this 1962 musical that earned Sondheim his first Tony for Best Musical?

From Quiz Stephen Sondheim Musicals

Answer: Forum

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" was the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical where he provided both the music and the lyrics (book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart), also earning him critical success wholly his own. The musical earned six of eight Tony nominations, including Best Musical. Inspired by the works of ancient Roman playwright Plautus, "Forum" is a farcical comedy wherein a slave named Pseudolus tries to finagle his freedom by helping his master (named Hero) 'get the girl next door'. This main role was played by Zero Mostel in both the original Broadway production, and the later film rendition in 1966.

22. Finish the lyric: "They say that George only lives with ________."

From Quiz Sondheim Lyrics

Answer: tramps

This tidbit is from 'Gossip' in "Sunday in the Park With George," sung by one of the Celestes. Mary D'Arcy and Melanie Vaughan played the gossipy young Celestes in the original Broadway cast (1984).

23. Can you complete this lyric from "A Little Night Music?" "One thousand whims to which I give in, since her smallest tear turns me ________."

From Quiz Complete the Sondheim Lyric

Answer: ashen

This line is from the song, "You Must Meet My Wife." The next line is "I never dreamed that I could live in so completely demented, contented a fashion."

24. Which show has a song with the line "Where others would hurry I stroll"?

From Quiz Name the Sondheim Show

Answer: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

From "I'm Calm", which is Hysterium's attempt to calm himself down after Pseudolus persuades him to dress up as a girl and play dead. It doesn't work!

25. In which show would you find the character Carl-Magnus?

From Quiz Which Sondheim show is that?

Answer: A Little Night Music

Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm is one of the men that Desiree Armfeldt is having an affair with. He doesn't seem to mind that his wife knows that he is having an affair.

26. What was the first Broadway musical Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics for?

From Quiz A Simple Sondheim Assessment

Answer: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is about a slave, Pseudolus, who longs for his freedom. To earn it, he must unite a young man named Hero with the lady he loves, Phylia.

27. In this song in "Sweeney Todd", the title character decides that "They all deserve to die."

From Quiz Simply Sondheim

Answer: Epiphany

"Sweeney Todd", one of my favorite Sondheim shows, was supposed to be revived with Brian Stokes Mitchell as Todd and Christine Baranski as Mrs. Lovett in 2002. Apparently the plans fell through...I was upset.

28. What was the name of Dot's daughter in "Sunday In The Park with George"?

From Quiz Sondheim 101

Answer: Marie

Dot gets this name from an early reading book as she educated herself to read.

29. "Anyone Can ________" This Sondheim musical had a short run on Broadway in 1964, but is notable for being Angela Lansbury's stage musical debut. What can anyone do?

From Quiz Stephen Sondheim Musicals

Answer: Whistle

"Anyone Can Whistle" was the second collaboration between Sondheim (music & lyrics) and Arthur Laurents (book), the other being "West Side Story". Its Broadway run was very short, comprised of only twelve previews and nine performances, and while it has been staged a few times since, it has not received the same attention as some of Sondheim's other works. The story revolves around a small town and its leader's efforts to increase tourism by creating a fake miracle. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't draw all the expected kinds of people. Angela Lansbury played the role of Cora Hoover Hooper, the unscrupulous town mayoress.

30. Finish the lyric: "The sun comes up, I think about you; the _____________, I think about you."

From Quiz Sondheim Lyrics

Answer: coffee cup

This musing is from 'Losing My Mind' in "Follies," sung by Sally. In the 1971 original Broadway cast, this was sung by Dorothy Collins. Barbara Cook also sang a memorable rendition in the 1985 concert version.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:03 AM
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