Places Becker's Been (International and US)
The Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps, The Capital of the World. Most famous for Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Central Park, where Mr. Becker was pooped on by a pigeon. He will find that pigeon.
What is New York City?
The first role Mr. Becker ever played (Epic Saxophone Man #1, which he convinced the director to put on the billing) was for this Broadway musical. Set in the later years of Herbert Hoover's term as president, this musical follows the titular orphan girl as she navigates her adoption by the eponymous Mr. "Daddy" Warbucks, and is one of two beloved musicals to feature New York City as almost its own character in and of itself.
Famous songs include Tomorrow and Easy Street (which featured Epic Saxophone Man #1)
What is Annie?
This 1999 animated movie set in quintessential Cold War America was based on Ted Hughes's beloved 1968 children's science fiction book, "The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights," which was set in quintessential Cold War Great Britain. The film follows the story of a large, golem-like figure and a young child as they navigate the political and social landscape of small-town Americana. In the book, they fight a dragon in space. In the movie, the heroic sacrifice involves the more down-to-earth threat of a nuclear missile.
"You stay. I go. No following."
What is The Iron Giant?
This Classical Greek epic, commonly attributed to Homer, describes the complete history of the Trojan War through the eyes of the warrior Achilles, who, in most translations, does not get shot in the heel. Opening line is as follows:
Sing, Goddess, of the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus.
What is the Iliad?
This city is the capital of Kansas, translated as "A good place to dig potatoes" or "Smoky Hill," but no one is completely certain.
What is Topeka?
Though it was commonly known as the Big Smoke during the 19th Century, most nicknames for this city are not terribly common. Known for its beefeaters, its beloved bell beside the House of Parliament, and the Square Mile, this largest and most famous city of the United Kingdom is a common visitation stop for Mr. Becker.
What is London?
This was another of Mr. Becker's smaller roles, as he played Gate Guard #2. Set in L. Frank Baum's beloved world of Oz, this tells the story of two witches, both opposed in their destinies, and the fated journey their fellows cannot follow.
Popular (heh) songs include...Popular, and Defying Gravity.
What is Wicked?
While it was a box office flop in the face of other 2001 films like Shrek, this 2D Animated Disney Film is believed to have the highest death count of any Disney film. Following the adventures of a boiler-room archaeologist and a cast of characters taken from all over the 1890's United States, this Disney film demonstrates the dangers of the colonial mindset, the lure of monetary gain, and the threat of interference with a dying culture.
"You have disturbed the dirt!"
What is Atlantis: The Lost Empire?
This French heroic epic codified a long, long series of legends detailing the titular king, his sword as granted by the Lady of the Lake, and his fall during the Strife of Camlann. However, more interesting in this rendition was the addition of two new characters, Launcelot and Gueneviere, who became staples within the mythos. Opening line is as follows:
It befell in the days of Uther Pendragon, when he was king of all England, and so reigned, that there was a mighty duke in Cornwall that held war against him long time.
What is L'Morte d'Arthur (The Death of King Arthur)? The Legend of King Arthur is also acceptable.
Kansas is famous for its fast food, especially its burgers and pizza. One of the most famous pizza chains in the world was founded in Wichita, Kansas, and gained such international renown that in 1991, the Premier of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, starred in a commercial for this company. Their slogan exclaims, with pride, that they can never be "out-pizza"-ed.
What is Pizza Hut?
The Big Easy, Crescent City, Birthplace of Jazz. This city is most famous for the Muddy Mississippi, the French Quarter, and, of course, Cajun hot sauce, of which Ghost Pepper is Mr. Becker's favorite. Mr. Becker has visited this city twice, and while it is his favorite place to visit, it would be his second-least favorite place to live behind only Atlanta.
What is New Orleans?
Mr. Becker's first major role was as a talking candlestick in this musical adaptation of Disney's beloved animated classic.
Popular songs include Gaston and Be Our Guest
What is Beauty and the Beast?
This historic 1985 Sylvester Stallone film was created right at the height of the United States's latest Cold War feud with the USSR. A boxing drama about the quintessential 80's boxing match between the titular character and Ivan Drago, this film is enshrined in the American cultural canon as a classic.
"Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he's got. But to beat me he's gonna have to kill me, and to kill me he's gotta have the guts to stand in front of me, and to do that he's gotta be willin to die himself."
What is Rocky IV? (Won't accept Rocky)
This 19th Century masterpiece of the mystery genre written by Sir Arthur includes such stories as "A Scandal in Bohemia," "A Case of Identity," and, most famously, "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
First line from the book is as follows:
"To the detective, she was always /the/ woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name."
What is the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?
Kansas is incredibly famous for fast food. Many burger joints that went international were founded there, from Freddy's Frozen Custard, to this fortress-logo restaurant famous for their sliders that are known to "slide right in, slide right out." This restaurant franchise known for its low cost and lower quality was also founded in Wichita, KS.
What is White Castle?
Queen of the Cowtowns, the Wickedest Little City in the West, and the Cowboy Capital. This city in the middle of Western Kansas is best known for Heartburn Alley (Wyatt Earp Blvd), the Long Branch Saloon, and the Old Train Depot. It is also the largest city by Mr. Becker's hometown.
What is Dodge City, Kansas?
The musical that formed the one-album wonder Barber Shop Quartet Three and a Half Tenors. Set in the pre-war United States (specifically Iowa), this classic of musical theater features the romance between a librarian and a fast-talking conman who wants to make money putting together children's bands (despite the fact he knows nothing about music)
Popular songs include Lida Rose and Shipoopi
What is The Music Man?
This 1997 film from the critically-acclaimed animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli follows Hayao Miyazaki's usual theme of the struggle between industry and progress. Following a death-cursed boy and a young woman raised by wolves as they engage in the eternal warfare between the factory and the forest, this film is Mr. Becker's third-favorite Studio Ghibli film.
"What exactly are you here for?"
"To see with eyes unclouded by hate."
What is Princess Mononoke?
This Old English epic details the strength of the titular character as he fights first a son of Cain, then his mother, then the dragon which eventually kills him. Considered the first epic written in (what can loosely be called) English, this foundational work inspired Lord of the Rings and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Opening line is as follows:
Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
(Alright here's the line in Modern English):
What! We of the Spear-Danes in days-of-yore
of the people-kings glory heard,
how the noblemen valor did.
What is Beowulf?
This Kansas State Song is one of two State Songs which does not mention the name of its home state, alongside Louisiana with "You Are my Sunshine." Beginning with the iconic line "Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam," this old country ballad defines Kansas culture for many Kansans.
What is Home on the Range?
While its name translates to Smoky Harbor, the name of the city itself is sort of a misnomer. Known for having one of the prettiest Lutheran churches in the world (Hallgrimskirkja), its weird domes that are pretty much exclusively for tourists, and, of course, being the Skyr (a type of yogurt) capital of the world, this capital of Iceland is the hometown of Becker's former college roommate Bjorn Asbjornsson
What is Reykjavik?
Popular songs include Put On Your Sunday Clothes and It Only Takes a Moment (both of which were featured in Wall-e)
What is Hello, Dolly?
This 1980's adaptation of a book by Robert Louis Stevenson directed by USSR animation king Radna Sakhaltuev is beloved in recent years for its comical cartoon action and over-exaggerated caricatures, the most well-known of which is Dr. Livesey, a case study on the benefits of a sober lifestyle.
What is Treasure Island (1988)? Soviet Treasure Island is also acceptable.
This beloved Danish fairy tale author created the most beloved and well-known tales, such as The Little Match Girl, The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Snow Queen. As he was known for finding beauty in quiet tragedy, Disney Animation Studios had to sanitize most of their adaptations of his works to keep with their motto that a happy ending is always in reach.
Who is Hans Christian Andersen?
The founding of Kansas defined the concept of Popular Sovereignty for the American people as a whole, in which the people of Kansas were given the right to enter into the Union as a free or slave state. After much bloody conflict, town-burning (Jayhawking), illegal voting by Missourians (Bushwacking), and the painting of the controversial, yet beloved, Tragic Prelude mural in Topeka, this period of Kansas history received this nickname because of its brutality and chaos.
What is Bleeding Kansas?