200+ Best Musicals & Theatre Trivia Questions & Answers

Question: Which musical features the cheeky tune 'With a Little Bit of Luck'?

Answer: My Fair Lady

Question: Who's the sneakiest backstabber in all of Shakespeare's Othello?

Answer: Iago

Question: In A Caseira e a Catarina, who did the woman dial up for a deadly deal?

Answer: Devil

Question: Who famously wondered aloud, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" while basically inventing dramatic texting?

Answer: Juliet

Question: Time to rewind: Which of these musicals hit the stage first?

Answer: Oliver!

Question: Which wandering noble carries the royal title 'Prince of Tyre'?

Answer: Pericles

Question: Whose sword sent Macbeth to his final monologue?

Answer: Macduff

Question: In which Shakespearean party does Sir Toby Belch drink, prank, and stir chaos?

Answer: Twelfth Night

Question: Which punk rock band brought American Idiot to the big stage?

Answer: Green Day

Question: Who dropped the literary mic with The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895?

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Question: Big hair, bigger dreams—Tracy Turnblad dances her way into which musical?

Answer: Hairspray

Question: Who put chalk to board and wrote The History Boys?

Answer: Alan Bennett

Question: Which Arthur Miller play shouted “Witch!” way before social media did?

Answer: The Crucible

Question: Joao Silverio Trevisan founded Brazil’s first what? (Hint: It was fierce and fabulous.)

Answer: Gay rights organization

Question: Where does the Shakespearean clown named Touchstone drop his one-liners?

Answer: As You Like It

Question: In what year did the legendary Ariano Suassuna take his final curtain call?

Answer: 2014

Question: Which feline-filled musical sings the haunting ballad Memory?

Answer: Cats

Question: In Bunraku, what are the wigs (yes, they’re a big deal) called?

Answer: Kazura

Question: In Shakespeare's fairyland showdown, who reigns as Queen of the Fairies?

Answer: Titania

Question: Which post-war year saw the curtain rise on An Inspector Calls?

Answer: 1945

Question: Why did the Chief of Hell slap the cuffs on the colonel in O Rico Avarento?

Answer: Because of his sins

Question: At what tender age did Martins Pena lose his father?

Answer: One

Question: Which screenplay did Arthur Miller write for his bombshell bride Marilyn Monroe?

Answer: The Misfits

Question: Which rock opera, starting in 2009, proves Green Day was Broadway-worthy?

Answer: Green Day

Question: How many sonnets did Shakespeare pen before Instagram captions were a thing?

Answer: 154

Question: Who’s the puppet partner of Mr. Punch in the marionette world?

Answer: Judy

Question: Which toe-tappin' musical grew out of Green Grow The Lilacs?

Answer: Oklahoma!

Question: In what year did The Importance of Being Earnest debut with a bang?

Answer: 1895

Question: Who takes center stage in Goncalves Dias’ classic Patkull?

Answer: Patkull

Question: At New Jerusalem theatre, which powerful story gets the outdoor spotlight?

Answer: Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Question: How many plays did Shakespeare stack up in his legendary portfolio?

Answer: 38

Question: Which ancient tongue did Aristophanes use to pen those hilarious classics?

Answer: Greek

Question: Which of Shakespeare’s plays is so short it could fit in a tweet (almost)?

Answer: The Comedy of Errors

Question: In which blood-soaked Shakespearean play do you find a recipe calling for “nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips”?

Answer: Macbeth

Question: Who starred in the 2002 movie version of The Importance of Being Earnest?

Answer: Colin Firth

Question: In which musical does Sally Bowles light up Berlin’s nightlife?

Answer: Cabaret

Question: Which musical was crowned the 2012 Tony Award winner for Best Musical?

Answer: Once

Question: Which WWI musical hit was more popular than ration coupons?

Answer: Chu Chin Chow

Question: What’s the fancy Japanese term for the main stage in Bunraku theatre?

Answer: Honbutai

Question: Which play features Shylock, one of Shakespeare’s most famous moneylenders?

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Question: How many plays did the Bard of Avon actually write (for real this time)?

Answer: 38

Question: At what age did Olayr Coan pass away in a tragic car crash?

Answer: 48

Question: Who gave us the existential waiting game in Waiting for Godot?

Answer: Samuel Beckett

Question: Which musical features the hilariously painful song “Schadenfreude”?

Answer: Avenue Q

Question: Which musical lets you rock out with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?

Answer: Jersey Boys

Question: Who penned the emotional battleground that is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Answer: Edward Albee

Question: When do fans all over the world toast to Shakespeare’s birthday?

Answer: 23rd April

Question: Which Shakespeare play brews up a storm with three wicked witches?

Answer: Macbeth

Question: Which musical adaptation got its sass from a 1988 John Waters film?

Answer: Hairspray

Question: When did Oduvaldo Vianna Filho finish his iconic Rasga coracao?

Answer: Few days before his death

Question: Which king from the highlands did Shakespeare immortalise with drama and daggers?

Answer: Macbeth

Question: When did the satirical musical The Book of Mormon make its holy debut?

Answer: 2011

Question: How many times did Brazilian playwright Nelson Rodrigues say “I do”?

Answer: 3

Question: Augusto Boal passed at 78 battling which illness?

Answer: Leukemia

Question: Who wrote the epic family drama Long Day's Journey into Night?

Answer: Eugene O'Neill

Question: Which unlucky Shakespearean character got a donkey makeover thanks to magic?

Answer: Bottom

Question: Which suave actor almost starred in Aspects of Love, but had to bow out?

Answer: Roger Moore

Question: Which stunning Brazilian theatre is considered the crown jewel of Rio?

Answer: Rio de Janeiro

Question: Who brought the Mermaid Theatre to life in London?

Answer: Bernard Miles

Question: In what year did prolific playwright Plinio Marcos pass away?

Answer: 1999

Question: Which tragic opera gave birth to the musical Miss Saigon?

Answer: Madame Butterfly

Question: Which Shakespeare classic features the timeless dilemma “To be or not to be”?

Answer: Hamlet

Question: Which blade-happy barber sang and sliced his way through Fleet Street?

Answer: Sweeny Todd

Question: Which dramatic dad raised Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia?

Answer: King Lear

Question: Who created The Book of Mormon with their trademark satire and sass?

Answer: South Park

Question: Who died in the historic Catete Palace, home of the Republic Museum and Theatre?

Answer: Getulio Vargas

Question: In which Shakespeare play does a skull named Yorick steal a scene?

Answer: Hamlet

Question: Who crafted the moody Russian masterpiece Uncle Vanya?

Answer: Anton Chekhov

Question: According to critics, what’s considered Ariano Suassuna’s silver medal play?

Answer: His second best play

Question: What’s the hero of Ya-no-Ne sharpening when the curtain rises?

Answer: A giant arrow

Question: Which footballer did Arthur Smith dedicate an entire evening to on stage? (Spoiler: It wasn’t Messi.)

Answer: Gary Lineker

Question: Which ancient Greek thinker had zero interest in curtain calls or drama queens?

Answer: Homer

Question: When a conductor yells ralentando, what does your musical momentum do? (Hint: it's chill time.)

Answer: Getting slower

Question: Which year did snooker find its forever home at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield?

Answer: 1977

Question: Which ballet has a floral waltz so magical it could make you believe in fairies?

Answer: The Nutcracker

Question: Composer Malcolm Arnold cranked out classics with a stiff upper lip. What was his nationality?

Answer: British

Question: Where did the dramatic and elegant dance chaconne first hit the floor?

Answer: Spain

Question: Who turned Hitchcock’s suspense into laugh-out-loud theatre in The 39 Steps?

Answer: Patrick Barlow

Question: Which revolutionary musical stormed the stage in 1980 and hasn’t stopped making us cry?

Answer: Les Miserables

Question: Which singing voice sits right under tenor like the chill middle child of male vocals?

Answer: Baritone

Question: Which playwright gave us a conqueror named Tamburlaine before Shakespeare was even cool?

Answer: Christopher Marlowe

Question: Which music genre crowned Billie Holiday queen of heartbreak and soul?

Answer: Jazz

Question: If someone calls you a “thespian,” are they throwing shade or giving props?

Answer: Actor

Question: Jimi Hendrix didn’t just play this instrument—he made it scream fire. What was it?

Answer: Electric Guitar

Question: Who dared to write a musical called Urinetown and actually made it work?

Answer: Greg Kotis

Question: In what year did a bunch of costumed cats start dancing on the West End and never leave?

Answer: 1981

Question: Before it became a ballet about airy spirits, what was Les Sylphides originally named?

Answer: Chopiniana

Question: Who added Parisian sass to the stage with a script version of Gigi?

Answer: Anita Loos

Question: Which playwright had both horses and Mozart on his resume? That’s range.

Answer: Peter Shaffer

Question: When did The Phantom of the Opera first drop that chandelier in London?

Answer: 1986

Question: In a typical two-hour play, how many acts are served before the curtain falls?

Answer: 3

Question: Which villain from Dickens got a surprise second life in the musical Oliver!?

Answer: Fagin

Question: Which year did Broadway need umbrellas for the splashy debut of Singin’ in the Rain?

Answer: 1983

Question: Love Never Dies picks up where which dramatic musical left your heart in shambles?

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

Question: Schubert’s Unfinished might be incomplete, but what type of masterpiece was it supposed to be?

Answer: Symphony

Question: Which legendary drama teacher got a São Paulo theatre named after him?

Answer: Alfredo Mesquita

Question: How many Tony Awards did The Book of Mormon snatch like a Broadway bandit?

Answer: Nine

Question: In which play does someone dramatically shout “A handbag?” and change theatre forever?

Answer: The Importance of Being Earnest

Question: Which 80s musical had a big name but not a big run on Broadway?

Answer: Big River

Question: Which caped crusader did Emma Orczy create way before Batman was brooding?

Answer: Scarlet Pimpernel

Question: Which musical features tunes like 'You Are For Loving' and ‘Over the Bannister’? (Swoon alert!)

Answer: Meet Me in St. Louis

Question: In what year did Chicago bring jazz hands, murder, and media scandals to Broadway?

Answer: 1996

Question: Which 1967 musical turned nudity into an act of rebellion onstage?

Answer: Hair

Question: Which actress starred alongside Colin Firth in the 2002 film version of The Importance of Being Earnest?

Answer: Reese Witherspoon

Question: Which Kit Kat Klub girl in Cabaret shares her name with a common German name?

Answer: Helga

Question: What color flag waved above the Globe Theatre when Shakespeare was feeling funny?

Answer: White

Question: Who wrote The Caretaker, the play that made awkward silences an art form?

Answer: Harold Pinter

Question: Which musical clawed its way into our hearts with the song “Memory”?

Answer: Cats

Question: Who used the name Jean Baptiste Poquelin before becoming the Beyoncé of French theatre?

Answer: Moliere

Question: Which British comedian made her Shakespearean debut as a fairy queen in 2001?

Answer: Dawn French

Question: Which powerful genre turned Maria Callas into the Beyoncé of opera?

Answer: Opera

Question: Willy Loman chased the American Dream—and spiraled—in which Arthur Miller play?

Answer: Death of a Salesman

Question: Which musical features the world’s worst orphanage manager, Miss Hannigan?

Answer: Annie

Question: Which country gave Hedda Gabler her first taste of scandal and stage lights?

Answer: Germany

Question: Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors was inspired by which ancient Roman doppelgänger tale?

Answer: Menaechmi

Question: In what year did Oh! Calcutta! debut and totally scandalize the theatre world?

Answer: 1969

Question: Which legendary composer rocked the name Ludwig before it was cool?

Answer: Ludwig

Question: Which play stirred up Catholic school drama before it was a meme?

Answer: Doubt

Question: Which historical figure got the theatrical treatment in A Man for All Seasons?

Answer: A Man for All Seasons

Question: Which city got the first laugh in the stage adaptation of The 39 Steps?

Answer: Leeds

Question: For which wild role did Daniel Radcliffe trade his wand for something way more intense?

Answer: Equus

Question: Which musical is basically the comic strip Annie brought to tear-jerking life?

Answer: Annie

Question: What musical famously gave us the power ballad “Memory”? (Again. It’s that iconic.)

Answer: Cats

Question: Where was the King from in The King and I? (Hint: It's not just a menu item.)

Answer: Siam

Question: Which year did Billy Joel make his UK debut and piano-rock history at Drury Lane?

Answer: 1978

Question: Which musical briefly held the crown for longest-running before being upstaged?

Answer: Jesus Christ Superstar

Question: Which year did the sun come out for Annie on Broadway for the very first time?

Answer: 1977

Question: In which city did the classical genius Joseph Haydn take his final bow?

Answer: Vienna

Question: Which modern play puts suspicion, faith, and a nun under one roof in the 1960s?

Answer: Doubt

Question: In what year did gamblers and showgirls waltz onto Broadway in Guys and Dolls?

Answer: 1950

Question: What year did The 39 Steps get a laugh-filled reboot on stage?

Answer: 2005

Question: When did theatre audiences first get weird with Urinetown?

Answer: 2001

Question: “If I Were a Rich Man” is the toe-tapping dream from which iconic musical?

Answer: Fiddler on the Roof

Question: Which of these plays was penned by Henrik Ibsen, the original king of drama?

Answer: A Doll's House

Question: Who composed the Hallelujah Chorus, aka the soundtrack to every epic church moment ever?

Answer: George Frideric Handel

Question: How many performances did Miss Saigon run at Drury Lane before dropping the mic?

Answer: 4264

Question: Which Greek tragedy features a mother who makes even Cersei Lannister look tame?

Answer: Medea

Question: In what year did The Mousetrap first lock London into its murder mystery spell?

Answer: 1952

Question: Which musical saw Meat Loaf rocking out on stage before Bat Out of Hell?

Answer: Hair

Question: Which cheeky feline is the rebellious heartthrob of the musical Cats?

Answer: Rum Tum Tugger

Question: Which musical is set in the gritty streets of NYC’s East Side with artists struggling to pay rent?

Answer: Rent

Question: Who wrote the high-speed, roller-skating lyrics for Starlight Express?

Answer: Richard Stilgoe

Question: Which daring show opened in 1970 and told audiences to “brace themselves” for skin?

Answer: Oh! Calcutta

Question: Which Shakespeare play stars Shylock, a character you definitely don’t want to owe money to?

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Question: Who wrote Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, two plays that basically defined Russian drama?

Answer: Anton Chekhov

Question: In Oliver!, who’s Bill Sykes’ dangerously devoted mistress?

Answer: Nancy

Question: Where did Prince Charles first publicly step out with Camilla Parker-Bowles?

Answer: Ritz

Question: Who penned the twisty mystery thriller Sleuth?

Answer: Anthony Shaffer

Question: Which musical features Nessarose — the not-so-wicked sister with a lot of drama?

Answer: Wicked

Question: Which 2009 play took home an Obie and broke our hearts in the process?

Answer: Ruined

Question: Where do dancing queens drink ouzo and sing ABBA tunes under the sun?

Answer: Greece

Question: Which movie didn’t get the Tomandandy soundtrack treatment? (One of these is the odd one out!)

Answer: Legion

Question: If things go bump, scream, and involve chainsaws, how would you label Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Answer: Horror

Question: From which classic musical does the deep, soulful “Old Man River” flow?

Answer: Showboat

Question: Which musical features a dreamy clambake with names like Aunt Nettie and Enoch Snow?

Answer: Carousel

Question: In A Chorus Line, Cassie says she doesn’t need what? (Hint: It’s not talent!)

Answer: The Steps

Question: Roller skates on stage, but what were they actually skating as in Starlight Express?

Answer: Trains

Question: Which play’s name makes theatre folks knock on wood and spin around when spoken aloud?

Answer: Macbeth

Question: Sophie’s on a mission to find her dad in which musical romp with a Greek twist?

Answer: Mama Mia

Question: Where in Britain can you find more stars on stage than in the sky?

Answer: West End

Question: Which U.S. state is home to Andy Williams’ Moon River Theatre? (Think Show Me State!)

Answer: Missouri

Question: What’s the name of the fierce tomboy from West Side Story who’s ready to throw down?

Answer: Anybodys

Question: What type of dance do you catch if you're watching Billy Elliot leap across the stage?

Answer: Ballet

Question: What’s the dramatic name for the part of a play that happens before it actually begins?

Answer: Prologue

Question: Where is La Cage aux Folles set? (Hint: Bonjour, drag club realness!)

Answer: France

Question: What do you call the closing scene after the final curtain call of a play?

Answer: Epilogue

Question: Which DreamWorks movie about a green ogre and a donkey became a smash Broadway musical?

Answer: Shrek

Question: Will Hay was cracking up audiences in the 30s and 40s in what type of film genre?

Answer: Comedy

Question: Which Japanese city sets the scene for Madame Butterfly’s tragic tale?

Answer: Nagasaki

Question: Which U.S. city is also the title of a musical filled with jazz, crime, and razzle-dazzle?

Answer: Chicago

Question: Which of Shakespeare’s plays has witches chanting, “Double, double toil and trouble”?

Answer: Macbeth

Question: Romeo, the ultimate heartthrob, belonged to which Shakespearean family?

Answer: Montague

Question: Which classic musical features a character named Herbie who’s just trying to keep up?

Answer: Gypsy

Question: In music tech land, what does the 'M' in MIDI stand for?

Answer: Musical

Question: Which musical takes place in pre-WWII Berlin and is as scandalous as it is iconic?

Answer: Cabaret

Question: Which jungle-swinging Disney movie scored by Phil Collins got the Broadway treatment?

Answer: Tarzan

Question: Which musical features the line, “Mama thinks I’m living in a convent…”? (Hint: She’s not.)

Answer: Cabaret

Question: Which musical pulled off the biggest upset at the 2004 Tony Awards and made puppets proud?

Answer: Avenue Q

Question: Which high school musical is all greased up with poodle skirts and pompadours?

Answer: Grease

Question: What’s the fancy word for a daytime performance of a play or musical?

Answer: Matinee

Question: Which musical genius is Amadeus all about (and no, not the one from Amadeus the song)?

Answer: Mozart

Question: Catherine Johnson wrote which mega-hit musical that gave us ABBA on stage?

Answer: Mamma Mia

Question: What’s Audrey’s boyfriend’s creepy profession in Little Shop of Horrors?

Answer: Dentist

Question: Which musical has kids literally singing “I’d do anything” for a little affection and food?

Answer: Oliver

Question: Which train station is closest to the iconic Old Vic Theatre in London?

Answer: Waterloo

Question: Which musical gave Liverpool FC fans their anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”?

Answer: Carousel

Question: Where does the Ulster Bank Theatre Festival bring drama and delight every year?

Answer: Dublin

Question: Conor McPherson’s spooky play The Seafarer takes place in which Irish seaside town?

Answer: Baldoyle

Question: Which mischievous feline is known as the “Napoleon of Crime” in CATS?

Answer: Macavity

Question: Which steamy play written by Patrick Marber turned into a film with Julia Roberts and Jude Law?

Answer: Closer

Question: Which controversial David Mamet play dives into murky waters between teacher and student?

Answer: Oleanna

Question: Cyrano de Bergerac was known for what bold facial feature? (Hint: You couldn’t miss it.)

Answer: Big nose

Question: Which song from Footloose didn’t make the leap from screen to stage?

Answer: Never

Question: Where might you spot a cerge? (No, it’s not a pasta dish.)

Answer: Church

Question: Which English king gets a front-row seat to royal family drama in The Lion in Winter?

Answer: Henry II

Question: In Tennessee Williams’ world, who said, “We occupy the same cage, that’s all”?

Answer: Maggie

Question: “Don’t cry for me Argentina…” comes from which emotional musical rollercoaster?

Answer: Evita

Question: Which play by George Bernard Shaw got a Broadway glow-up as My Fair Lady?

Answer: Pygmalion

Question: Where do Romeo and Juliet’s tragic lovebirds swirl around in Shakespeare’s famous play?

Answer: Verona

Question: Which musical did John Kander help make famous with jazz hands and criminal flair?

Answer: Chicago