Broadway Pop Quiz: The Play's the Thing

It's Back to School time! So why not start with a little test? This one's all about plays on Broadway. Good luck!

Broadway Pop Quiz:

The Play's the Thing! 

    

1. TRUE or FALSE: The current Broadway revival of Art is playing in the same theater as the original Broadway production.

2. TRUE or FALSE: The three stars of the Art revival have all been a part of various Stephen Sondheim projects over the years.

3. On September 1st, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will:

    A. close after 2,388 Broadway performances.

    B. begin performing a new, even shorter version of the show.

    C. become the 3rd longest-running play in Broadway history.

    D. will welcome Rupert Grint to the cast, playing the same role he played in the films.

4. TRUE or FALSE: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is the first playwright in the 21st century to win both the Pulitzer Prize for drama AND the Tony Award for the same play.

5. TRUE or FALSE: Purpose is the only Best Play to play at the Hayes.

6.  A major Hollywood star is headlining this season in each of these plays EXCEPT:

    A. Waiting for Godot

    B. Punch

    C. Bug

    D. Oedipus

7. Which star of Marjorie Prime has also appeared in a musical on Broadway?

    A. June Squibb

    B. Cynthia Nixon

    C. Christopher Lowell

8. Which of the following is NOT true about Bug star Carrie Coon?

    A. She is married to the play's author.

    B. She currently stars in HBO's The Gilded Age.

    C. She made her Broadway debut in a Tennessee Williams play, co-starring her then future husband.

    D. She will be making her Manhattan Theatre Club debut in this play.

9. TRUE or FALSE: John Proctor is the Villain is not only the Broadway debut of playwright Kimberly Belflower, but it is the only play she has written.

10. Which female pop artist has a song, "Green Light," that figures prominently in the action of the play John Proctor is the Villain?

    A. Taylor Swift

    B. Selena Gomez

    C. Cardi B

    D. Lorde

STOP SCROLLING NOW!

(When you are ready for the answers look below!)

1. FALSE: The current Broadway revival of Art is playing in the same theater as the original Broadway production.

2. TRUE: The three stars of the Art revival have all been a part of various Stephen Sondheim projects over the years.

3. On September 1st, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will:

    C. become the 3rd longest-running play in Broadway history.   

4. FALSE: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is the first playwright in the 21st century to win both the Pulitzer Prize for drama AND the Tony Award for the same play.

5. FALSE: Purpose is the only Best Play to play at the Hayes.

6.  A major Hollywood star is headlining this season in each of these plays EXCEPT:

    B. Punch

7. Which star of Marjorie Prime has also appeared in a musical on Broadway?

    A. June Squibb

8. Which of the following is NOT true about Bug star Carrie Coon?

    C. She made her Broadway debut in a Tennessee Williams play, co-starring her then future husband.

9. FALSE: John Proctor is the Villain is not only the Broadway debut of playwright Kimberly Belflower, but it is the only play she has written.

10. Which female pop artist has a song, "Green Light," that figures prominently in the action of the play John Proctor is the Villain?

    D. Lorde

Theatre Story of 2013: The A.R.T. Powerhouse

At last!  The biggest Broadway story (I think) of the year is the emergence of A.R.T. (American Repertory Theater) as a major producer on the Great White Way.  Considering that they have sent in two of the most talked about shows of the year, and have booked a sure fire hit for the beginning of 2014, you can't argue that this Tony Award-winning Cambridge, MA regional theatre has really hit its stride.

Of course, this past year wasn't their firs at the Big Dance.  They have been the birthplace and/or producers of nearly a dozen shows dating back to the early 1980's.  Among their more famous shows back then was the original productions of 'night Mother and Big River. The former won the Pulitzer Prize, the latter, the Tony Award for Best Musical.

But most recently, they've begun amassing their own shelf of awards: in 2012, their production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess nabbed the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, and this year, they earned the same for Pippin.

Their current presentation of The Glass Menagerie, probably the most acclaimed production of the classic Williams play since the original production, is likely looking at an awards-filled future.  And their newest endeavor, All the Way, also embraced by the critics looks to be another one for the win column.  Time will tell, of course, about 2014.  But their importance to the theater scene in 2013 is a definite.

REMEMBER: Check out all of my 2013 in Review blogs by clicking the icon to your left, or by clicking "The Year in Review" tab at the top of this page.

Jeff

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