Q 01/05

Which songwriter, later famous for Wicked, wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Pippin?

A) Stephen Sondheim

B) Stephen Schwartz

C) Marvin Hamlisch

D) Andrew Lloyd Webber

Answer · why

B) Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz first wrote a version as a student, yet he says not a single line or note of it reached the final Broadway show.

Q 02/05

Which choreographer won Tonys for both directing and choreographing Pippin's original Broadway production?

A) Michael Bennett

B) Jerome Robbins

C) Bob Fosse

D) Gower Champion

Answer · why

C) Bob Fosse

Bob Fosse also contributed to the script, and two of the songs were added during rehearsals at his request.

Q 03/05

Which performer won a Tony as Pippin's original Leading Player after playing Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar?

A) Ben Vereen

B) Gregory Hines

C) André De Shields

D) Clifton Davis

Answer · why

A) Ben Vereen

Ben Vereen kept returning to the part, reprising it in a 1981 filmed version and in a 1986 US tour that he also directed.

Q 04/05

In the musical Pippin, the title prince is the eldest son of which real Frankish king and emperor?

A) Clovis I

B) Charles Martel

C) Louis the Pious

D) Charlemagne

Answer · why

D) Charlemagne

Charlemagne and his son are borrowed from real early medieval figures, but the plot is fiction and makes no attempt at historical accuracy.

Q 05/05

In the finale of Pippin, the Leading Player urges the prince to end the show by doing what?

A) Jumping from a castle tower

B) Setting himself on fire

C) Drinking a cup of poison

D) Fighting a fatal duel

Answer · why

B) Setting himself on fire

Setting himself on fire is pitched as the only truly fulfilling act left, but Pippin backs out at the last moment, sure there must be something more.