From Broadway to the West End: Musicals of the 1980s Quiz
Estimated Completion Time 3 min
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Image: Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images
About This Quiz
What kind of a quiz covers Victor Hugo and break-dancing and a whole lot in between? This one! Join us on stage and screen to test your knowledge of the French Revolution, a feline extravaganza and a labyrinth — in song, of course.
START QUIZ
The 1982 Broadway musical "Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" features a song called what?
"Time to Cry in the Shower"
The lyric "but does God love little fat girls too?" is one for the space capsule.
"Les Miserables" is a …
Since there's no spoken dialogue, it's considered a sung-through musical.
"Les Miserables" made its premiere where?
The hit show started its life with a run in London.
What famous stage actress was the original Fantine on the West End?
LuPone dreamed a dream in the London production.
What show (and later film) features the song "Suddenly, Seymour"?
"The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"
"Little Shop" premiered in 1982.
Where did "Little Shop of Horrors" first open?
To be fair, it was off-off Broadway, meaning that it was at an even smaller venue.
Where did the original show NEVER run?
But a bit of a trick; the original production never ran on Broadway, but it did make its premiere there in a 2003 revival.
Let's get into film. What '80s musical movie did Jim Henson direct?
A dark film for the kids.
In the 1982 film "Victor/Victoria," who plays the cross-dressing lead?
Victoria dresses up as Victor, who dresses up as Victoria.
Who wrote the music for "Victor/Victoria"?
Mancini won an Oscar for the score.
What Disney musical film came out in 1989?
"The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh"
Ariel and the gang made a splash late in the '80s.
What musical film debuted in 1984 with a famous singer in the lead role?
Prince became a household name with the film "Purple Rain."
The 1984 cult hit "Breakin'" is about what musical trend?
It's about break dancing. Really, you should get that one.
What now-famous musician was in both "Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo"?
Ice-T was in the movies. John Legend would've been cool, though.
Ice- T also featured in a 1985 film loosely connected to "Breakin' 2" called what?
"Rappin'" didn't do so hot.
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" had a run of how many shows in its 1982 Broadway opening?
While there was a successful U.S. tour before it, the Broadway show didn't do so hot and only had five shows.
What is the name of the T.S. Eliot book that the 1982 Broadway hit "Cats" is based on?
"Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats"
"Cats of the World, and Where to Find Them"
Old Possum is in good with the cats.
What "Cats" song is NOT taken from Eliot's original words?
"The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball"
Trevor Nunn wrote the lyrics to "Memory"
"Starlight Express" made it onto Broadway in 1987. What set it apart from other musicals?
The actors are all naked.
The actors speak Esperanto half the time.
The actors are all roller-skating.
All the actors are roller-skating. At the risk of editorializing, it's fair to say that "Starlight Express" is objectively bonkers.
1984's "Sunday in the Park With George" is based on what?
"A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat inspired the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical.
"42nd Street" debuted on Broadway in 1980. Before that, it was …
a successful touring show
The 1933 film was adapted for the stage in 1980.
The 1980 film "Xanadu" takes its name from what?
a Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem
Both are correct. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately ... nightclub decree?
Barbra Streisand starred in what film musical of 1983?
And don't forget she also directed and co-wrote the screenplay for "Yentl."
What song is featured in "Yentl"?
"Papa, Can You Hear Me?" is sung by Streisand, of course.
What 1988 musical proved to be one of the most expensive flops in Broadway history?
"Carrie" is the stuff of (regrettable) legends.
The off-Broadway show "Nunsense" started off as ...
The resourceful nuns were originally on greeting cards.
1987's "Into the Woods" retells the stories from what author?
The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Perrault get dark fast.
1985's "Big River" was a Broadway production based on what book?
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
"Little House on the Prairie"
The show, based on "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," won Tonys for best musical, book and score that year.
"Miss Saigon" premiered on the West End in 1989. What is the story based on?
It's based on "Madama Butterfly," an opera by Puccini.
Lea Salonga played Kim in the original "Miss Saigon." What other famous character has Salonga given voice to?
Ariel in "The Little Mermaid"
Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin"
Belle in "Beauty and the Beast"
Salonga provided Jasmine's singing voice.
You Got:
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