CHAPTER 63 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. Who wrote The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance?
a. Gilbert and Sullivan c. Richard Wagner
b. Johann Strauss Jr. d. Victor Herbert
3. Victor Herbert revamped operetta to suit American tastes with works such as
a. Babes in Toyland. c. Finian’s Rainbow
b. Show Boat. d. My Fair Lady.
4. Which of the following musicals has collaborations by Rodgers and Hammerstein?
a. South Pacific c. Carousel
b. Oklahoma! d. All answers shown here.
5. Which contemporary composer lifted the musical to new levels of sophistication?
a. Stephen Sondheim c. Jerome Kern
b. Lin-Manuel Miranda d. Richard Rodgers
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 c. Rent
b. Evita d. Sunday in the Park with George
8. Which of the following operas was the inspiration for Jonathan Larson’s rock opera Rent?
a. Le nozze di Figaro c. Carmen
b. La bohème d. Pagliacci
9. Bernstein rose to prominence as
a. a conductor. c. a composer.
b. a pianist. d. All answers shown here.
10. Leonard Bernstein was the first American-born conductor to be appointed director of the
a. New York Philharmonic. c. Chicago Symphony.
b. Boston Pops Orchestra. d. Los Angeles Philharmonic.
11. Which of the following were composed by Leonard Bernstein?
a. Chichester Psalms, On the Town, Fancy Free
b. On the Town, Porgy and Bess, West Side Story
c. An American in Paris, Fancy Free, On the Waterfront
d. Fancy Free, Porgy and Bess, West Side Story
12. 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.
13. Which of the following wrote the lyrics for West Side Story?
a. Leonard Bernstein c. Stephen Sondheim
b. Arthur Laurents d. Andrew Lloyd Webber
14. Bernstein’s West Side Story updates the feud of the Capulets and the Montagues to a feud between
a. Tony and Maria. c. the Jets and the Sharks.
b. the Jets and the police. d. African Americans and Puerto Ricans.
15. What is the setting for West Side Story?
a. the West Side of New York City c. the Bronx
b. Boston d. Coney Island, New York
16. What are the ethnic origins of the mambo?
a. Spanish c. Mexican
b. Afro-Cuban d. Brazilian
17. Which musical was the first to be based on a tragedy?
a. Oklahoma! c. West Side Story
b. The Sound of Music d. Sweeney Todd
18. Who helped build a tradition of musical theater in North America?
a. the church c. the US government
b. immigrant musicians d. All of the answers shown here.
19. What city was the cultural center of the United States in the mid-1800s?
a. Boston c. Baltimore
b. Los Angeles d. New York City
20. Who wrote Clorindy, or The Origin of the Cakewalk (1903)?
a. Gilbert and Sullivan c. Victor Herbert
b. Will Marion Cook d. George Gershwin
21. What was the first black production to play a major Broadway theater?
a. Clorindy, or The Origin of the Cakewalk
b. Porgy and Bess
c. Babes in Toyland
d. Show Boat
22. Which musical brought history alive with memorable songs?
a. Hamilton c. Rent
b. Oklahoma! d. Billy Elliot
23. Who was the first American-born conductor to be appointed director of the New York Philharmonic?
a. Aaron Copland c. Charles Ives
b. Leonard Bernstein d. Alan Gilbert
24. Who was the choreographer for West Side Story?
a. Leonard Bernstein c. Stephen Sondheim
b. Arthur Laurents d. Jerome Robbins
25. Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate is based on which Shakespeare play?
a. Romeo and Juliet c. Macbeth
b. The Taming of the Shrew d. Hamlet
26. Who are the star-crossed lovers in West Side Story?
a. Tony and Maria c. Anita and Bernardo
b. Romeo and Juliet d. Maria and Bernardo
1. American musical theater developed out of the European comic opera or operetta tradition.
2. Show Boat 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. Composers of musicals often look to sophisticated literary sources.
5. Bernstein was influenced by both Gershwin and Copland.
6. Leonard Bernstein was the first American-born musician to be appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic.
7. Leonard Bernstein composed both popular and art music.
8. West Side Story is Bernstein’s only musical.
9. Bernstein’s West Side Story deals with rival youth gangs in Los Angeles.
10. Bernstein’s West Side Story draws on Afro-Cuban dance rhythms.
11. American musical theater has roots in minstrel shows and vaudeville.
12. Lady, Be Good was the first musical to incorporate ragtime melodies and rhythms.
13. Wicked is a musical derived from the classic book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
14. Leonard Bernstein attended Yale University.
15. West Side Story is based on The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare.
16. Modern composers of dramatic music rarely look to familiar literature for inspiration.
17. West Side Story was the first musical tragedy.
1. Discuss the origins of musical theater in North America.
2. Why did Leonard Bernstein employ vernacular musical styles in West Side Story? Describe how he combined these qualities with the
traditions of musical theater.
3. Discuss how musicals have relied on preexisting literature for inspiration.