History Quiz: Michael Bennett
April 4, 2022

Read up on Michael Bennett’s contributions to Broadway and more here, then test your students’ knowledge with this quiz! 

1. How did Bennett model himself after Jerome Robbins?

2. What was the first Broadway show Bennett saw at age 11?

3. _______ was Bennett’s longtime collaborator.

4. Name a few Broadway shows Bennett directed and/or choreographed?

5. Who organized the 1974 tape sessions that later developed into A Chorus Line?

6. The musical’s story, lyrics, design and choreography were created through revisions and collaborations through what is now called the ___________.

7. What shows did Bennett direct after A Chorus Line?

8. What awards did Bennett receive for A Chorus Line?

9. Who created the music for A Chorus Line?

10. Bennett died of ______ at age_____.

Michael Bennett, Bob Avian and Margo Sappington stand in a triangle in the middle of a dance studio. Their hips are jutted to the site, caught mid-bounce by the camera. Photo is black and white.
Michael Bennett rehearses with Bob Avian (left) and Margo Sappington (right). Photo by Friedman-Abeles, courtesy Dance Magazine Archives

ANSWER KEY

1. He crafted historically and psychologically realistic characters, using existing dance styles to reflect an individual’s world. ; 2. Fosse’s The Pajama Game’; 3.

Bob Avian; 4. Promises, Promises, Company, Follies, Seesaw, A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls; 5. Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens; 6. workshop production; 7.

Ballroom and Dreamgirls; 8. Two Tony Awards two Drama Desk Awards, the 1976 Pulitzer Prize and the 1976 Dance Magazine Award; 9. Marvin Hamlisch; 10. AIDS, 44.