Today's broadway trivia question has been contributed by Terry Martin (Harvard), currently visiting at U Texas.
Here it is…
"Name three Broadway musicals (excluding Kismet and Rent)
that use tunes derived from notable classical tunes."
Have fun …
Sunday Night Broadway Trivia
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1) How Now, Dow Jones: "Step to the Rear" based on the 3rd movement("Scherzo. Allegro vivace con delicatezza") of Schubert's Piano sonata in B-flat.
2) A Chorus Line: "Tits & Ass" based on Mozart's Cantata No. 150.
3) Grease: "Summer Nights" based on Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.
Or maybe not.
Maybe not. I don't hear the references at all.
Fame: Dance Class Beethoven Spring Sonata
Your a Good Man Charlie Brown: Schorder Beethoven Moonlight Sonata,
Then there are the catagory issues: Porgy and Bess; West Side Story classics in themselves
Beethoven is always good for a tune and these two seem right. What I had been thinking about was
1. Somewhere (Bernstein) – Emperor Concerto (Beethoven) 2nd mvt
2. Bring Him Home (Schönberg) – Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly (Puccini)
3. Music of the Night (Lloyd Webber) – Quello che tacete from La fanciulla del West (Puccini)
Interestingly, the people who follow this issue seem to feel that Bernstein and Schönberg are making homages by quoting classical composers while Andrew Lloyd Webber is seen as more of a plagiarist. How one can tell that is an interesting question and would it matter is another.