Broadway Games: Who or What's That Line About?

Broadway Games:

Who's (or What's) That Line About?

This week's game should test your knowledge of Broadway show tunes! Read each lyric and tell who or what it is about. BONUS: Name the song title and the show it comes from!

1. "There's a place for us..." Who/what is "us"?

2. "And I felt nothing!" Who/what is "I"?

3. "There she is! Towering high, broad and grand..." Who/what is "she"?

4. "And I am telling you...I'm not going!" Who/what is "I"?

5. "Oh! I am old. I am ugly. I embarrass you!" Who/what is "you"?

6. "What is that? It's priest. Have a little priest." Who/what is "that"?

7. "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line..." Who is "I"?

8. "That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball!" Who is the "kid"?

9. "Look, there she goes, that girl is so peculiar. With a dreamy, far-off look, and her nose stuck in a book..." Who is "that girl"?

10. "On my own, pretending he's beside me..." Who is "my"? Who is "he"?

STOP!

If you aren't ready to check your answers, stop scrolling NOW!

If you are ready, please proceed!

1. "There's a place for us..." Who/what is "us"? US: Tony & Maria

Song: "Somewhere" Show: West Side Story

2. "And I felt nothing!" Who/what is "I"? I: Diana Morales  

Song: "Nothing" Show: A Chorus Line

3. "There she is! Towering high, broad and grand..." Who/what is "she"? 

SHE: The RMS Titanic Song: "There She Is" Show: Titanic

4. "And I am telling you...I'm not going!" Who/what is "I"? I: Effie White

Song: "And I Am Telling You" Show: Dreamgirls

5. "Oh! I am old. I am ugly. I embarrass you!" Who/what is "you"? 

YOU: Rapunzel Song: "Stay With Me" Show: Into the Woods

6. "What is that? It's priest. Have a little priest." Who/what is "that"?

THAT: an imaginary meat pie Song: "A Little Priest" Show: Sweeney Todd

7. "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line..." Who is "I"? 

I: Rosie Song: "Take a Chance on Me" Show: Mamma Mia!

8. "That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball!" Who is the "kid"?

KID: Tommy Walker Song: "Pinball Wizaed" Show: The Who's Tommy

9. "Look, there she goes, that girl is so peculiar. With a dreamy, far-off look, and her nose stuck in a book..." Who is "that girl"? THAT GIRL: Belle

Song: "Belle" Show: Disney's Beauty and the Beast

10. "On my own, pretending he's beside me..." Who is "my"? Who is "he"?

MY: Eponine HE: Marius Song: "On My Own" Show: Les Miserables

Broadway Games: More 2000's Tony-winning Lyrics

Last week's game proved to be quite popular! Seems all you show tunes fans enjoy a challenge. So here are 5 more (no repeats from last week, either!). Oh! And the answers to last week's game are at the bottom. Good luck! 

Broadway Games:

More 2000's 

Tony-winning Lyrics

Here's how it works: Below are lyrics from a song that is part a Tony Award-winning Best Score from 2000 - 2019 - anything from Aida - Hadestown. Naming the show may prove difficult enough, but show us how much of a musical theater master you are by also naming the song title, lyricist and what character(s) sang it.

Remember: Each will come from a Tony-winning score. Also, the gentleman in the picture above does not  figure into this week's game.

1.     "I don't wanna wear this no more.

        Play the saucy Swiss miss no more.

        Blow my signature 'kiss' no more."

Show:       

Song Title:        

Character:        

Lyricist:

2.     "There's a town I call home

        where the streets are paved with soul.

        Down on Beale, there's a honkey-tonk bar,

        hear the wail of the blues guitar,

        have a beer and drop a dime

        in the blind man's jar."

Show:       

Song Title:        

Character:        

Lyricist: 

3.     "I can't tell you I know what the answer will be.

        It's impossible.

        But this thing, this is bigger than what we can see.

        This is destiny.

        We are tied, we are locked, we are bound;

        This will not be reversed or unwound."

Show:       

Song Title:        

Character:        

Lyricist:             

4.     "Stick a pin in a map of the desert.

        Build a road to the middle of the desert.

        Pour cement on the spot in the desert.

        That's Bet Hatikvah."

Show:       

Song Title:        

Character:        

Lyricist: 

5.     "I only run the toilet

        In this part of town, you see.

        So, if you've got to go,

        You've got to go through me."

Show:       

Song Title:        

Character:

Lyricist:             

#2536

Answers to Last Week's Game:

2000's Tony-winning Lyrics

1.     "Never compromise, accept no substitute...ahh

        I would rather wear a barrel...ahh

        Than conservative apparel...ahh"

Show:  Aida      

Song Title:  "My Strongest Suit"           

Character: Amneris (Sherie Rene Scott)

Lyricist: Tim Rice  

2.        "You sit in the quad, and think,

            'Oh my God! I am totally gonna go far!'"

Show: Avenue Q      

Song Title: "I Wish I Could Go Back to College"             

Character: Princeton (John Tartaglia)

Lyricist: Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx 

3.        "If I won the lotto tomorrow, well I know

            I wouldn't bother going on no spending spree

            I'd pick a business school and pay the entrance fee

            Then maybe, if you're lucky, you'll stay friends with me.

            I'll be a business, richer than Nina's daddy,

            Donald Trump and I on the links, and he's the caddy."

Show: In the Heights     

Song Title: "96,000"         

Character: Benny (Christopher Jackson)

Lyricist: Lin-Manuel Miranda       

4.        "This ain't no game

            That we got a ton of rotten fruit and perfect aim.

            So they gave their word?

            Well, it ain't worth beans!

            Now they gonna see what 'Stop the presses' really means!"

Show: Newsies: The Musical       

Song Title: "The World Will Know"    

Character: The Newsies

Lyricist: Jack Feldman

5.        "But Alexander I'll never forget the first time I saw your face.

            I have never been the same.

            Intelligent eyes in a hunger pain fame.

            And when you said, 'hi,' I forgot my dang name.

            You set my heart aflame, every part aflame, this ain't no game."

Show: Hamilton       

Song Title: "Satisfied"       

Character: Angelica

Lyricist: Lin-Manuel Miranda       

Broadway Games: 2000's Tony-Winning Lyrics

How well do you know your 21st century Broadway lyrics? Over the first 20+ years of the new millennium there have been dozens of new scores written, and this week's game will test your knowledge of them.

Broadway Games:

2000's Tony-Winning Lyrics

Here's how it works: Below are lyrics from a song that is part a Tony Award-winning Best Score from 2000 - 2019 - anything from Aida - Hadestown. Naming the show may prove difficult enough, but show us how much of a musical theater master you are by also naming the song title, lyricist and what character(s) sang it.

Remember: Each will come from a Tony-winning score. Also, the gentlemen in the picture above do not  figure into this week's game.

1.     "Never compromise, accept no substitute...ahh

        I would rather wear a barrel...ahh

        Than conservative apparel...ahh"

Show:        Song Title:        Character:        Lyricist:        

2.        "You sit in the quad, and think,

            'Oh my God! I am totally gonna go far!'"

Show:        Song Title:        Character:        Lyricist:        

3.        "If I won the lotto tomorrow, well I know

            I wouldn't bother going on no spending spree

            I'd pick a business school and pay the entrance fee

            Then maybe, if you're lucky, you'll stay friends with me.

            I'll be a business, richer than Nina's daddy,

            Donald Trump and I on the links, and he's the caddy."

Show:        Song Title:        Character:        Lyricist:        

4.        "This ain't no game

            That we got a ton of rotten fruit and perfect aim.

            So they gave their word?

            Well, it ain't worth beans!

            Now they gonna see what 'Stop the presses' really means!"

Show:        Song Title:        Character:        Lyricist:        

5.        "But Alexander I'll never forget the first time I saw your face.

            I have never been the same.

            Intelligent eyes in a hunger pain fame.

            And when you said, 'hi,' I forgot my dang name.

            You set my heart aflame, every part aflame, this ain't no game."

Show:        Song Title:        Character:        Lyricist:        

#2531

Answers to Last Week's Game:

Pop Hits/Broadway Flops

1. The Capeman     J. Paul Simon

2. Chess     H. ABBA

3. Cry-Baby     E. Fountains of Wayne

4. Finding Neverland     I. Take That

5. Ghost: The Musical     B. Eurythmics

6. Hands on a Hardbody     F. Phish

7. The Last Ship     D. Sting

8. Lestat     C. Elton John

9. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark     G. U2

10. Taboo     A. Boy George

Broadway Games: Finish the Lyrics!

Like many of you, I've spent my fair share of my quarantine time listening to cast recordings. You know how lyrics to songs get stuck in your head? It can be maddening! This week's game asks you to to finish the given lyric from songs that are in Tony Award-winning Best Musicals.  Good luck getting them out of your head! Bonus if you can name the song title!

Broadway Games:

Finish the Lyrics

Best Musical Edition

1. "Kiss today goodbye, and ______  ______  ______  ______"

2. "Put on your Sunday clothes when ______  ______  ______  ______  ______"

3. "There she is! Towering high, broad and grand - ______  ______  ______!"

4. "Your short hair and your dungarees ______  ______  _______  _______  _______"

5. "There's a fine, fine line between love and ______  ______  ______  ______" 

#2436

Broadway Games: Asking the Bigger Questions

VOTE IN THIS MONTH'S BROADWAY POLL!  

VOTE IN ROUND 2 OF HOT/HOTTER! 

LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND CLICK THE ICONS!

Merrily We Roll Along is currently enjoying a revival at City Center as part of the Encores! series.  In the show, which is told in reverse chronological order, the lyrical question "How did you get to be here?" comes up often.  All of the best Broadway shows ask the "really important questions."

Here are some of the "bigger questions" posed by some of Broadway's biggest hits - and a few flops, too.




Identify each in one of these ways:

• EASY: name the show it comes from
• CHALLENGING: name the song and the show
• MASTER CLASS: name the show, the song and the character who sings or asks the question.

(HINT: Each lyric with an "*" comes from a Tony winning Best Musical and/or Best Musical Revival)

1. *What do you do with a B.A. in English?
2. Does your mother know?
3. How 'bout a dance?
4. What do you get when you fall in love?
5. I sort of hate to ask it, but do you have a basket?
6. Isn't it good to know that good will conquer evil?
7. How can you get so far off the track?  Why don't you turn around and go back?

8. Didn't I see this movie with McMurphy and the nurse?

9. *How many people does he need? How many boys? How many girls?

10. *Who's got the pain?

11. *Who am I?  Who am I?

12. *Who's that girl, with the chic shoulder pads and the stockings with the seams?

13. *How often is someone concerned with the tiniest thread of your life?

14. *Why watch me die, like Eliza in the ice?

15. *God, its good - the lovin' - ain't it good tonight?

16. Where is love?

17. Why did you do it Johnny?

18. *Look-a here, Huck, do you wanna go to Heaven?

19. *You there! Why are you so late?

20. *What's the sound of the world out there?

21. Who will love me as I am?

22. *Who will it be?  Who will it be?

23. Do you know what's worth fighting for?

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Jeff
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Musical Words of Wisdom

The cast recording of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is once again responsible for some serious thought.  If you are reading this, I'll assume that you have more than a passing interest in musical theatre.  If you are at all like me, you find the lyrics of Broadway shows to be a treasure trove of clever turns of phrase, witty witticisms, and poignant words to live by.

If you have listened to the score of WOTV at all, you know it is full of the aforementioned wit and poignancy.  It was one time when I was enjoying the ever so catchy "On the Verge" that I got my Broadway Vocabulary Quiz blog idea (the word was "ululating") and the idea for this blog came to  mind as I laughed out loud at a certain line in the song that struck me as funny, true, and as a clever turn of phrase.  (See below)  And I asked all of you to send me your favorite lines from Broadway musical numbers.  

Please note that there were several repeats, so I might not attribute the line to you.  Understand that appreciate all of your contributions!  And so, here are some of my favorites along with some of yours.

• "It's murder on a hairdo when your head is underwater." - "On the Verge" from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• "You've got pain in your stomach like a long-neglected tooth, dilated pupils that refuse to see the truth..." - "Lovesick" from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

• "The price of love is loss, but still we pay.  We love anyway." - "Light" from next to normal

• "Because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true." - "Thank Goodness" from Wicked (GalindaU89 from NYC)

• "Christmas bells, ringing out goodwill to men, and peace on Earth; Ev'rything they taught you when you were a child - the things a child once taught the world." - "Christmas Day" from Promises, Promises (Sherilyn F. from Newark, NJ)

• "Life is what you do 'til the moment you die." - "Life Is" from Zorba (Barb P. from Manhattan)

• "I'd walk through the quad, and think, 'Oh My God!  These kids are so much younger than me!'" - "I Wish I Could Go Back to College" from Avenue Q (Tim Z from Geneva, NY)

I could probably do a whole blog just from the entries sent in from AChorusLineFREEK from Long island, NY!  Thanks! (He or she didn't leave a name, but DID leave words of wisdom and clever wording from almost every song in that show's score!

From A Chorus Line:

• "Who am I anyway?  Am I my resume?  That is a picture of a person I don't know." - "I Hope I Get It"
• "All thanks to Sis (Now married and fat)" - "I Can Do That!"
• "'Diff'rent' is nice, but it sure isn't pretty.  'Pretty' is what it's about.  I never met anyone who was 'diff'rent'.  Who couldn't figure that out?" - "At the Ballet"
• "Too young to take over, too old to ignore." - "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen"
• "Six months later I heard that Karp had died.  And I dug right down to the bottom of my soul... and cried.  'Cause I felt... nothing." - "Nothing"
• "Tits and ass won't get you jobs, unless they're yours.  Didn't cost a fortune, neither.  Didn't hurt my sex life, either." - "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three"
• "Give me a job and you instantly get me involved.  If you give me a job, then the rest of the crap will get solved." - "The Music and the Mirror"
• "Kiss today goodbye, and point me t'ward tomorrow.  We did what we had to do.  Won't forget, can't regret what I did for love." - "What I Did For Love"
• "One smile and suddenly nobody else will do." - "One"

Next week, I'll do another blog entirely made up of quotes from the musicals of Stephen Sondheim - thanks to contributions from Tyler, Catherine and SteFANSondheim13!

And keep sending in your favorite lyrics and vocabulary words for future blogs!  Lloyd Webber fans - send me your quotes, too!  I'll do a whole blog on those if I get enough!

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!

Jeff

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