Watching the Same Plot a Lot: Solution

Each clue is a summary of (part of) the plots of two different musicals by different composers:

A. Bat Boy by Laurence O’Keefe Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks

B. Man of La Mancha by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion Kiss of the Spider Woman by John Kander and Fred Ebb

C. Utopia, Limited by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim

D. Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim Ragtime by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

E. Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown

F. Pippin by Stephen Schwartz Avenue Q by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

G. Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman Bat Boy by Laurence O’Keefe

H. Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser Dirty Rotten Scoundrels by David Yazbek

I. Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Kiss of the Spider Woman by John Kander and Fred Ebb

J. Rent by Jonathan Larson A New Brain by William Finn

K. Ruddigore by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim

L. Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe Chicago by John Kander and Fred Ebb

M. Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter On the Twentieth Century by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green

N. Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim Little Shop of Horrors by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman

O. The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim

P. The Producers by Mel Brooks Dirty Rotten Scoundrels by David Yazbek

Q. South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Miss Saigon by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg R. The Little Mermaid by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman Once on This Island by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

S. Godspell by Stephen Schwartz Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

T. Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim

U. Wicked by Stephen Schwartz Legally Blonde by Laurence O’Keefe

V. In Trousers by William Finn Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown

W. The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammestein Cabaret by John Kander and Fred Ebb

X. Les Misérables by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg The Scarlet Pimpernel by Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton

Y. Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice The Will Rogers Follies by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green

On the graph, the vertices represent songwriting teams (whose initials are conveniently listed below the graph), and so each edge corresponds to one of the clues, connecting the two songwriting teams whose works are indicated in that clue.

J V

O B E C W L T

K Q I N D

X R S F Y G

M U A

H P

The mysterious phrase WILY USING GRAPH NODE accompanies the graph. Highlighting the edges in the graph that correspond to the letters in each of these four words forms the shapes of the letters, respectively, T, U, S, and K. This spells TUSK, which is the answer to the puzzle.