WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel switch seats to kick off the sixth season.
Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase LAKE CHAD. Rearrange the letters in one word and add a letter to the other word without rearranging to get the names of two things that might be next to each other on a supermarket shelf. What are they?
Answer: KALE and CHARD.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: LONG-RUNNING SHOWS
On-air questions: This marks our first show of September, and that got me thinking about the Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt song “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks. The original Off-Broadway production opened in 1960 and ran for 42 years and 17,162 performances. A 2006 revival is still going strong at the Jerry Orbach Theater. So today’s show is all about long-running shows.
1. Revived on Broadway this year, Cats debuted on Broadway in 1982 and ran for 18 years. For a time, it was the longest-running Broadway musical in history before being surpassed by The Phantom of the Opera. The musical is based on a 1939 book of poems called Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats written by which poet?
2. On Broadway in a revival since 1996, the second-longest running show in history was celebrated at this year’s Tony Awards by an actress who has played three different roles in the production — Velma Kelly, Roxie Hart and Mama Morton. What show is this and for a bonus point, who is the actress?
3. The third-longest running Broadway show opened in 1997 and won six Tony Awards the next year, including Best Musical. Featuring songs like “The Stampede,” “Rafiki Mourns” and “Grasslands Chant,” the musical is based on a 1994 film of the same name – which is what?
4. No. 15 on the list of longest-running Broadway shows is a production that ran from 1972 to 1980. The actor Barry Pearl played Sonny on the first national tour in 1973, Doody in the 1978 movie, and had a cameo in the live TV version in 2016. What is the show?
5. Like the aforementioned The Phantom of the Opera, the sixth-longest running show on Broadway also takes place in a theater — opening on a bare stage during auditions. Directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, the show ran for 6,137 performances from 1975-1990 and featured songs like “One” and “I Hope I Get It.” What is the show?
Extra credit
1. No. 16 on the list is Fiddler on the Roof, which has been revived on Broadway five times since its original 1964 production. Now playing Tevye is Danny Burstein, but who originated the role on Broadway?
2. The longest-running jukebox musical in Broadway history, a show featuring the music of ABBA ran on Broadway from 2001 to 2015. What is the name of this show, which takes its name from a 1975 single?
This week's challenge
Start with the term BROADWAY PLAY. Rearrange the letters and you can spell a five-letter word for what a Broadway play might win and the seven-letter name of a certain magazine. What are the words?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. T.S. Eliot
2. Chicago and Bebe Neuwirth
3. The Lion King (The Grammy-winning Elton John-Tim Rice song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” appears in both the film and show).
4. Grease (Vanessa Hudgens, Rosie O’Donnell and Brooke Shields are among the actresses to play Rizzo over the years)
5. A Chorus Line (plans are afoot for a 50th anniversary revival in 2025; a documentary about the 2006 revival was called Every Little Step)
Extra credit
1. Zero Mostel (he won a Tony for originating the role and returned to it several times including on Broadway in 1976)
2. Mamma Mia!
