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Follies Trivia

Follies Trivia Quizzes

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This show about the reunion of some people who had performed together many years earlier in a revue called "Weismann's Follies" won seven of the eleven Tony Awards for which it was nominated.
2 Follies quizzes and 30 Follies trivia questions.
1.
  Sondheim's "Follies"   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
A quiz on the classic Sondheim musical about a revival of former Follies performers and the confrontation between their past glory and present realities. Enjoy!
Tough, 20 Qns, jouen58, Oct 31 16
Tough
jouen58
513 plays
2.
  "Follies" in Concert    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In 1985, many Broadway stars united to sing in a concert of the musical "Follies". How much do you recall about this event?
Average, 10 Qns, anthonyrappfan, Oct 31 16
Average
anthonyrappfan
181 plays

Follies Trivia Questions
1. What famous musical theatre duo appeared in the cast?

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: Adolph Green and Betty Comden

Comden and Green were a famous pair who often wrote lyrics for Broadway shows. Among their credits are "On The Town", "Wonderful Town" and "Applause".

2. This show underwent a long period of gestation before arriving at its final state. Its original title was "The Girls Upstairs", and it was conceived as this type of story.

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: A murder mystery

The book for "Follies" was written by James Goldman ("The Lion in Winter"), who started off writing it as a a murder mystery. However it never really came off and eventually, at the instigation of director Hal Prince, it evolved into a story about some former "Follies" performers (and their spouses) reflecting on their past lives while attempting to come to terms with the present.

3. Director Hal Prince took his inspiration for the basic tone of the show from a photograph of what famous Hollywood star of the past?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Gloria Swanson

Prince was inspired by a photograph of Swanson standing, with outstretched arms, amid the rubble of the demolished Roxy Theater (the Roxy had opened in the twenties with a film starring Swanson entitled "The Loves of Sunya").

4. Near the beginning of the play, former "Follies" impresario Dmitri Weisman greets his former performers and welcomes them to their first - and last - reunion. What is the occasion of this reunion?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: The theater is being demolished.

Weisman tells them that, since the Follies ended, the theater "...has been a home to ballet, rep, movies, blue movies, and now, in a final burst of glory, it's to be...a parking lot!"

5. Which Broadway veteran sang "Broadway Baby"?

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch is famous for her gravelly voice, and shall forever be remembered for playing Joanne in Sondheim's "Company" opposite Dean Jones.

6. Complete this lyric from "Love Will See Us Through 'Til Something Better Comes Along": "I may make a ______________"

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: Rotten Host

This song is sung between Young Buddy and Young Sally, shortly after they are married. They sing it as Young Ben and Young Phyllis sing "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow".

7. Who sang the role of Phyllis Rogers Stone?

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: Lee Remick

Lee Remick died of liver and kidney cancer in 1991, but not before getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was one of Stephen Sondheim's favorite performers.

8. Which couple sings the duet "Rain on the Roof"?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Emily and Stuart Whitman

"Rain on the Roof", a brief, lighthearted number about a couple getting romantic while stuck indoors during a rainstorm, is sung by husband and wife duo Emily and Stuart Whitman. It is the first of a group of three numbers which are performed together; the other two are "Ah, Paree!" and "Broadway Baby".

9. At which theater did the concert take place?

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: Avery Hall, Lincoln Center

The concert gave two performances on two consecutive nights at Avery Hall in the Lincoln Center. The New Year's Eve Concert given by the New York Philharmonic was also recorded there.

10. In the song "Broadway Baby", what are the only three things in the girl's flat?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Her cat, a bed, and a chair.

"Broadway Baby", a song about a young hopeful starting on the rough road to fame and fortune, is sung by a sixtyish veteran performer named Hattie Walker. She sings "At my tiny flat, there's just my cat, a bed, and a chair. Still, I'll stick it 'til I'm on a bill all over Times Square!"

11. Which two songs form a counterpart to each other (they begin with the same music and are performed in close proximity to each other)?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: "The Road You Didn't Take" and "In Buddy's Eyes"

In "The Road You Didn't Take", Ben tries to convince himself, and Sally, that he is happier living his rather empty, materialistic, and shallow life than if he had stayed the same idealistic, romantic person that he once was. Sally, likewise, sings "In Buddy's Eyes" to convince herself, and Ben, that she is happier in her loveless marriage to the adoring Buddy than if she had married Ben.

12. Who sang "I'm Still Here"?

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: Carol Burnett

Carol Burnett played Carlotta Campion, the Broadway veteran who sings about having seen it all, from Herbert Hoover to J. Edgar Hoover, and nearly everything in between.

13. Which song from the show, choreographed by Michael Bennett, is still recognized as a watershed moment in Broadway choreography?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Who's That Woman?

In this number, sung by Stella Deems, the women attempt (with some difficulty) to perform one of the Follies' more difficult dance numbers while, in the background, the "ghosts" of their younger selves effortlessly perform the difficult choreography. This devastating contrast between age and youth was unparalleled in the history of Broadway choreography and was a high point in Michael Bennett's distinguished career.

14. Who wrote the book for "Follies"?

From Quiz "Follies" in Concert

Answer: James Goldman

James Goldman also wrote the play "The Lion in Winter" and worked on rewriting "Follies" until his death in 1998. George Furth wrote the book to "Company" and Hugh Wheeler was involved in "Sweeney Todd".

15. One song written for the show, "Can That Boy Foxtrot!", was dropped when the singer (Yvonne de Carlo, a.k.a. Lily Munster), was unable to make it work. What now legendary song was written to replace it?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: I'm Still Here

This song, detailing the ups and downs in the life of a star, has become a theme song for a number of show business legends, including Shirley McLaine, Barbra Streisand, Ann Miller, Polly Bergen, Elaine Stritch, and Carol Burnett. Incidentally, the "Foxtrot" number later took on a life of its own in various Sondheim retrospectives and concerts and makes a surprise appearance in the 1996 movie "The Birdcage", where Nathan Lane is heard singing a snatch of it as part of his "drag queen" act.

16. In the love duet "Too Many Mornings", what color dress does Sally wish she had worn?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Green

In the middle of this beautiful duet between Ben and Sally, Sally dreamily sings "I should have worn green. I wore green the last time; the time I was happy."

17. Which number is sung by the "ghosts" of Ben, Phyllis, Sally, and Buddy's younger selves?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through

"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" is a duet between Young Ben and Young Phyllis. "Love Will See Us Through" is a duet between Young Buddy and Young Sally. Both couples are about to start their lives together. Eventually, the two duets merge into a quartet.

18. "Losing My Mind", sung by Sally, is probably the best-known song from the show. What composer's style did Sondheim imitate in this song?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: George Gershwin

Most of the "Follies" numbers in the show are an affectionate pastiche of the styles of past composers. "Losing My Mind" is in the style of such Gershwin standards as "The Man I Love" and "But Not For Me".

19. What is "Buddy's Blues" also known as?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: The 'God, Why Don't You Love Me?' Blues

Buddy has the "God, why don't you love me? Oh you do? I'll see ya later" blues." Basically, he is unable to love Margie, who worships him, and can't stop loving Sally, who is in love with Ben.

20. What is the song "The Story of Lucy and Jesse", sung by Phyllis, about?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: The contrast between Phyllis as she was and as she is now.

"Lucy" is Phyllis' younger self ("Lucy is juicy, but terribly drab.", or "Lucy is lacy, but dull as a smock"), while "Jesse" is Phyllis as she is now ("Jesse is dressy, but cold as a slab", or "Jesse is racy, but hard as a rock"). She would like to reconcile the two and become a happier person.

21. Sondheim has said that this song was inspired by the music of Ravel.

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Could I Leave You?

"Could I Leave You?", sung by Phyllis as she contemplates leaving her unhappy marriage, contains some of Sondheim's most biting lyrics set to a lilting, Ravel-style waltz melody.

22. Which song culminates in a nervous breakdown (Ben's)?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Live, Laugh, Love!

This starts as a carefree, top-hat-and-tails type number, but gradually turns serious as Ben realizes that his life is meaningless and empty. It ends with him calling out desperately for Phyllis, who had said earlier that she was leaving him.

23. The song "Beautiful Girls", to which the former Follies girls make their entrance, and which is sometimes reprised at the end of the show, is written in the style of this composer.

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: Irving Berlin

This song is intended to be the "Weisman Follies" version of "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody", written by Berlin for the Ziegfeld Follies.

24. What year did the original "Follies" open on Broadway?

From Quiz Sondheim's "Follies"

Answer: 1971

Follies premiered on April 4, 1971, at the Winter Garden Theater, starring (among others) John McMartin (Ben), Alexis Smith (Phyllis), Dorothy Collins (Sally), Gene Nelson (Buddy), Yvonne de Carlo (Carlotta), Ethel Shutta (Hattie), Justine Johnson (Heidi), Fifi d'Orsay (Solange) and Mary McCarty (Stella).

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