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Quiz about Broadway Flops
Quiz about Broadway Flops

Broadway Flops Trivia Quiz


Throughout Broadway's history, there have been the "Cats", "Phantom of the Opera", and "Rent" like musicals that have run for a very long time and been very successful. And then there are the Broadway flops...the terrible, campy and just plain disastrous

A multiple-choice quiz by danceswithcows. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
234,702
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
10 / 15
Plays
2083
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: colbymanram (6/15), Guest 72 (13/15), LidflipperColl (8/15).
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Question 1 of 15
1. This first failure was based on a well known Truman Capote story and starred Mary Tyler Moore. It was so terrible that the producer shut it down during previews. What was this flop? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. This next flop starred none other than Lucille Ball. It ran for 171 performances, so it wasn't a huge flop nor was it in any way a hit. Identify the show's name. Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. The very boring flop "Into the Light" attempted to prove which of the following? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. This next flop was based on a Warner Brothers movie. Its composer, lyricist, and star were all rolled into one in Peter Allen. Can you identify it? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. Which of these superheroes had their own flop musical, whose title started "It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ..."? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. This flop was chiefly devised by none other than Bob Fosse. Many agree that the choreography was brilliant, but that the plot about foolish bank robbers didn't pull through. Everyone involved with the show was far too scared to tell Fosse that it was a disaster. Identify the name of the show. Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. This flop is now popularly performed throughout the country, as it has been recognized as a good show that the public disliked very much at the time. It was a more modern musical rewrite of an already written play, which starts in one year and moves steadily back through the decades. What is the name of this flop? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. Which of these flop musicals was based on a movie about a boy who adopts a baby deer? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. Which of these flops boasted music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. This musical was based on the true story of a conman who tried to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge to make some money. It lasted only a single performance, and was once considered to be the benchmark for all flops until a certain other flop took its place. What is the name of this show? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Which of these famous childhood playthings has their own flop musical? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. Which of these Strouse/Adams musicals has a flop sequel? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. This next musical is based on a famous Daniel Keyes story about a man who is mentally challenged. Can you identify it? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. True or False: There is a sequel to the musical "Annie" named "Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge".


Question 15 of 15
15. This final flop is the king of them all: the flop to end all flops. Based upon a Stephen King novel, the story is about a social outcast who goes all out on her cruel classmates at the Prom with her telekinetic powers. Can you identify it?

Answer: (One Word)

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Most Recent Scores
Mar 11 2024 : colbymanram: 6/15
Mar 08 2024 : Guest 72: 13/15
Feb 26 2024 : LidflipperColl: 8/15
Feb 07 2024 : crossesq: 13/15
Feb 02 2024 : Guest 68: 10/15

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This first failure was based on a well known Truman Capote story and starred Mary Tyler Moore. It was so terrible that the producer shut it down during previews. What was this flop?

Answer: Breakfast at Tiffany's

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" was in such bad shape that the producer, David Merrick, closed it during previews rather than (in his own words) "subject the drama critics and the public to an excruciatingly boring evening." Somehow, a full studio cast recording emerged.
2. This next flop starred none other than Lucille Ball. It ran for 171 performances, so it wasn't a huge flop nor was it in any way a hit. Identify the show's name.

Answer: Wildcat

"Wildcat" in many people's opinion was never really given a fair chance by the public. It had a decent score (written by Cy Coleman, author of the music in "Sweet Charity" and "I Love My Wife"). Lucille Ball's Broadway debut unfortunately also became her last performance there.
3. The very boring flop "Into the Light" attempted to prove which of the following?

Answer: That the image of Jesus on the Shroud of Turin was genuine

"Into the Light" was a musical written about the testing done on the Shroud of Turin. It also featured a side storyline about a scientist worried about his son's fantasy life. Tap dancing nuns and priests could hardly save this show.
4. This next flop was based on a Warner Brothers movie. Its composer, lyricist, and star were all rolled into one in Peter Allen. Can you identify it?

Answer: Legs Diamond

"Legs Diamond" is based on the Warner Brothers movie "The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond". The film version is based on the life of criminal Jack Moran, whose alias was Jack "Legs" Diamond. Peter Allen had always wanted to take a show to Broadway; halfway through, he stated "I'm in show business! Only a critic can kill me now!" Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
5. Which of these superheroes had their own flop musical, whose title started "It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ..."?

Answer: Superman

Charles Strouse and Lee Adams (collaborators on shows such as "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Annie") produced six flop musicals during their careers. One of them was the musical "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman!" Eventually, it was adapted into a film, which did much better than the Broadway musical, although the musical was nominated for three Tony awards.
6. This flop was chiefly devised by none other than Bob Fosse. Many agree that the choreography was brilliant, but that the plot about foolish bank robbers didn't pull through. Everyone involved with the show was far too scared to tell Fosse that it was a disaster. Identify the name of the show.

Answer: Big Deal

Bob Fosse, the bookwriter/choreographer of "Chicago" and the brilliant choreographer behind "Sweet Charity", "Pippin", and others, missed with this one. After a mere 69 performances, "Big Deal" shut down.
7. This flop is now popularly performed throughout the country, as it has been recognized as a good show that the public disliked very much at the time. It was a more modern musical rewrite of an already written play, which starts in one year and moves steadily back through the decades. What is the name of this flop?

Answer: Merrily We Roll Along

"Merrily We Roll Along" was a play set in 1934 moving back steadily toward 1916; the revised musical version (with a Stephen Sondheim score to boot) started in 1980 and moved steadily back towards 1955.
8. Which of these flop musicals was based on a movie about a boy who adopts a baby deer?

Answer: The Yearling

"The Yearling", was adapted from a Gregory Peck movie under the same name about a boy who adopts a baby deer. The show lasted all of three performances and we can safely assume that the movie was much much better.
9. Which of these flops boasted music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein?

Answer: Pipe Dream

"Pipe Dream" was based on the Steinbeck story "Sweet Thursday". It tells the story of lonely people who find friendship and romance in a California town. However, this musical has the sad title of "Shortest Running Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical." Rodgers himself commented "If there were any tears in my eyes at opening night, it was because "Pipe Dream" was the weakest musical Oscar and I had ever done together."
10. This musical was based on the true story of a conman who tried to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge to make some money. It lasted only a single performance, and was once considered to be the benchmark for all flops until a certain other flop took its place. What is the name of this show?

Answer: Kelly

"Kelly" has one of Broadway's most terrible scores. It was considered the flop to end all flops until "Carrie" came along in 1988. If you want a laugh, I highly recommend trying to find the CD: there is a recording available. The opening number, "Ode to the Bridge" can't be missed: the title character sings a love song of sorts to the Brooklyn Bridge.
11. Which of these famous childhood playthings has their own flop musical?

Answer: Raggedy Ann

"Raggedy Ann" failed primarily because it didn't really have an audience. Adults weren't interested in numbers such as "Gingham and Yarn" and "Rag Dolly".
12. Which of these Strouse/Adams musicals has a flop sequel?

Answer: Bye Bye Birdie

"Bye Bye Birdie" spawned a sequel entitled "Bring Back Birdie." Needless to say, it didn't do so well for a number of reasons. As with their other sequel, "Annie 2", almost all the characters in "Bye Bye Birdie" had reached a happy ending (and those that hadn't were eliminated from the sequel) and people were no longer interested in what happened to them.

Not to mention a bad score and spoiled stars: when Donald O'Connor, the actor playing the lead role of Albert Peterson, forgot the words to one of his songs, he begged the boys in the band for help.

When they wouldn't give it to him, he stormed off the stage shouting "I hated this song anyway!"
13. This next musical is based on a famous Daniel Keyes story about a man who is mentally challenged. Can you identify it?

Answer: Charlie and Algernon

"Charlie and Algernon" was based on the story "Flowers for Algernon", a tale of a man who is mentally challenged and is given the opportunity to receive a surgery that will make him very intelligent. The process has also been tested on a mouse named Algernon. Charlie slowly gains intelligence, but is devestated to find that the operation is only temporary and might even cause death.
14. True or False: There is a sequel to the musical "Annie" named "Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge".

Answer: True

Believe it or not, a sequel was written to "Annie". The storyline concerns Annie's adoptive father, Oliver Warbucks, being ordered to find a mother for Annie or she'll be taken away from him. Rather than choosing his secretary and love, Grace, he organizes a contest to find her a mother. Meanwhile, Annie's meanspirited orphanage owner, Miss Hannigan, has escaped from jail and enters the contest, determined to become Annie's mother and make her life miserable. Needless to say, this show was poorly received.

Not only because Annie had a perfect ending in the first show, but also because the writers attempted to correct it so many times during its run! There is also another version of this sequel entitled "Annie Warbucks" that was a little bit better received.
15. This final flop is the king of them all: the flop to end all flops. Based upon a Stephen King novel, the story is about a social outcast who goes all out on her cruel classmates at the Prom with her telekinetic powers. Can you identify it?

Answer: Carrie

"Carrie" is the most expensive Broadway flop in history. Featuring goofy dialogue, costumes, and choreography, "Carrie" was buried by the critics. The sad thing is, many moments of "Carrie" are absolutely spectacular, particularly those between Carrie and her religious fanatic mother.

The score for those moments had very high quality; some of those songs are my personal favorites in all of musical theatre. However, it also had some of the campiest, cheesiest, and most terrible lyrics and music that have been heard. "Carrie" could definitely work if put into the right hands, but they definitely were not the hands of original director, Terry Hands. Well, that's my quiz. Hopefully you aspiring musical writers out there now know a few things to avoid! (For further details on "Carrie" I have a quiz on that as well)
Source: Author danceswithcows

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