Chapter 54: Staged Sentiment: Bernstein and American Musical Theater
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is considered America’s unique contribution to theater?
a. operetta c. the musical
b. pantomime d. ballad opera
2. Gilbert and Sullivan, Johann Strauss Jr., and Victor Herbert all composed:
a. operettas. c. Broadway musicals.
b. Hollywood musicals. d. all of the answers shown here
3. Victor Herbert revamped operetta to American tastes with works such as:
a. Babes in Toyland c. Finian’s Rainbow
b. Show Boat d. My Fair Lady
4. Who composed the first black production to play in a major Broadway theater?
a. Scott Joplin c. Will Marion Cook
b. Jelly Roll Morton d. Victor Herbert
5. Which of the following musicals ushered in what many consider the golden age of the American
musical?
a. The Phantom of the Opera c. Show Boat
b. Oklahoma! d. South Pacific
6. Which of the following is a musical by the British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber?
a. Sweeney Todd c. Wicked
b. Les Misérables d. The Phantom of the Opera
7. Which of the following is an example of a rock musical?
a. Sweeney Todd
b. Evita
c. Rent
d. Sunday in the Park with George
8. Which of the following operas was the inspiration for Jonathan Larson’s rock opera Rent?
a. The Marriage of Figaro c. Carmen
b. La Bohème d. Pagliacci
9. West Side Story is a modern-day musical retelling of Shakespeare’s:
a. Twelfth Night. c. Macbeth.
b. Merchant of Venice. d. Romeo and Juliet.
10. Which of the following wrote the lyrics for West Side Story?
a. Leonard Bernstein c. Stephen Sondheim
b. Oscar Hammerstein d. Andrew Lloyd Webber
11. Bernstein’s West Side Story updates the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues to a feud
between:
a. Tony and Maria.
b. the Jets and the police.
c. the Jets and the Sharks.
d. African Americans and Puerto Ricans.
12. What are the ethnic origins of the mambo?
a. Spanish c. Mexican
b. Afro-Cuban d. Brazilian
13. What city became the cultural center of the United States in the mid-1800s?
a. Chicago c. New York
b. Boston d. Los Angeles
14. What popular Afro-Cuban dance with a fast, syncopated beat did Bernstein incorporate into West
Side Story?
a. tango c. cha-cha
b. mambo d. none of the answers shown here
1. American musical theater developed from the variety show and European comic opera or operetta
tradition.
2. Lady Be Good helped usher in the golden age of American musicals.
3. The musical has remained exclusively an American art form not attempted by composers from
other countries.
4. Leonard Bernstein was the first American-born musician to be appointed conductor of the New
York Philharmonic.
5. Leonard Bernstein composed both popular and art music.
6. Bernstein’s West Side Story deals with rival youth gangs in Los Angeles.
7. Bernstein’s West Side Story draws on Afro-Cuban dance rhythms.
8. In the mid-1800s, Boston became the cultural center of the United States.
9. Jerome Robbins choreographed West Side Story.
ESSAY
1. Describe the origins of American musical theater, citing specific examples.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 303–304
TOP: Musical Theater MSC: Applied
2. Describe how Leonard Bernstein combined vernacular musical styles with the traditions of musical
theater in West Side Story.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 3 REF: Essentials: pp. 304–305
TOP: Bernstein MSC: Conceptual