Shared Characters
by Abhijit Mudigonda and Jacqui Fashimpaur, with orchestrations by Elise Fashimpaur
Answer: AVENUE Q
We are presented with 14 audio clips, each of which has a corresponding black line with a pink segment. Each clip has two components. The first is a list of movie characters. Looking at the actors who played these movie characters, we find a movie that all of them acted in. For example, James Bond, Marty Gilbert, and Marva Kulp are movie characters played by the actors Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, and Polly Holiday. All three of them appeared in the movie Mrs. Doubtfire. The second component of each clip is a MIDI clip of a song from a musical (the pink segment of the black line depicts which portion of the song is used, to help with identification).
| Clip Number | Given Characters | Actors | Common Movie | Song | Musical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calamity Jane, Joe Potter, Scarlet Smith | Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Winona Ryder | Beetlejuice | Big Fat No | Mrs. Doubtfire |
| 2 | George Morgan, Hugh Glass, Rick Gassko | Martin Sheen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks | Catch Me If You Can | Not Dead Yet | Monty Python and the Holy Grail |
| 3 | Finbar McBride, Francine Pinkney, Franklin Nelson | Peter Dinklage, Mary Steenburgen, Jon Favreau | Elf | Surprise | Young Frankenstein |
| 4 | Charlotte Morris, George Kuffs, Laurel | Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker | Heathers | Revenge Party | Mean Girls |
| 5 | Anthony Adams, Thomas Andrews, Ursula Udders | Luke Wilson, Victor Garber, Selma Blair | Legally Blonde | Opening Up | Waitress |
| 6 | Doug Armstrong, Maura Ellis, Paul Warren | Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, Daniel Franzese | Mean Girls | I Know It's Today | Shrek |
| 7 | Arthur Sherlock Holmes, Charles Meatson, Vyacheslav Molotov | John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | I'll Never Fall In Love Again | Promises, Promises |
| 8 | James Bond, Marty Gilbert, Marva Kulp | Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Polly Holliday | Mrs. Doubtfire | Candy Store | Heathers |
| 9 | Freddie Clayton, Goldmember, Randy Watson | Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy | Shrek | There Is A Santa Claus | Elf |
| 10 | Delia Mond, Felix Palmer, Monika Eriksson | Ulla Jacobsson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Harriet Anderson | Smiles of a Summer Night | Say My Name | Beetlejuice |
| 11 | Edna Mitty, Monica Crump, Vincent Doane | Shirley MacLaine, Edie Adams, Fred MacMurray | The Apartment | Skid Row | The Little Shop of Horrors |
| 12 | George Hanson, Nookie North, Stony Gratoni | Jack Nicholson, Meri Welles, Jonathan Haze | The Little Shop of Horrors | You Must Meet My Wife | A Little Night Music |
| 13 | Maria Coughlin, Kirk Schmidt, Rebecca | Adrienne Shelly, Eddie Jemison, Darby Stanchfield | Waitress | Butter Outta Cream | Catch Me If You Can |
| 14 | Arnold Teague, Carolyn Simpson, Dagobert Geste | Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman | Young Frankenstein | Legally Blonde | Legally Blonde |
The 14 musicals which appear are musical adaptations of the 14 movie clips which appear. By matching a musical to the movie it adapts, we can put the clips in a cycle.
| Clip # | Musical | Movie |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | Catch Me If You Can |
| 13 | Catch Me If You Can | Waitress |
| 5 | Waitress | Legally Blonde |
| 14 | Legally Blonde | Young Frankenstein |
| 3 | Young Frankenstein | Elf |
| 9 | Elf | Shrek |
| 6 | Shrek | Mean Girls |
| 4 | Mean Girls | Heathers |
| 8 | Heathers | Mrs. Doubtfire |
| 1 | Mrs. Doubtfire | Beetlejuice |
| 10 | Beetlejuice | Smiles of a Summer Night |
| 12 | A Little Night Music | The Little Shop of Horrors |
| 11 | The Little Shop of Horrors | The Apartment |
| 7 | Promises, Promises | Monty Python and the Holy Grail |
Each edge of the cycle corresponds to a movie and its musical adaptation. From the musical, we have a set of characters who sing in the provided clip. From the movie, we have a set of characters who are portrayed by the actors who also play the given characters. For example, consider Mrs. Doubtfire. Stuart Dunmire and Euphegenia Doubtfire sing in the provided clip of Big Fat NO, the song from Mrs. Doubtfire. The actors Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, and Polly Holliday, in Mrs. Doubtfire, portray the characters Stuart Dunmeyer, Frank Hillard, and Gloria Chaney. The shared character here is Stuart [Dunmeyer/Dunmire].
In each clip, the provided character names share a letter at some position. For example, JAMESBOND, MARTYGILBERT, MARVAKULP all contain the A in second position. Doing this for each clip gives a letter. Reading these in cycle order, we obtain the cluephrase GCDOFDURATIONS. This suggests taking the greatest common divisor of the durations along each edge.
| Movie/Musical edge (labeled by movie) | Given Characters of Movie with same letter positions | Movie/Musical durations in seconds | GCD of durations on edge | Shared character | Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catch Me If You Can | Geor[g]eMorgan, Hugh[G]lass, Rick[G]assko | 8/14 | 2 | FRANKABAGNALEJR | R |
| Waitress | Maria[C]oughlin, KirkS[c]hmidt, Rebec[c]a | 14/10 | 2 | DAWN | A |
| Legally Blonde | AnthonyA[d]ams, ThomasAn[d]rews, UrsulaUd[d]ers | 10/25 | 5 | EMMETTRICHMOND | T |
| Young Frankenstein | Arn[o]ldTeague, Car[o]lynSimpson, Dag[o]bertGeste | 25/7 | 1 | IGOR | I |
| Elf | [F]inbarMcBride, [F]rancinePinkney, [F]ranklinNelson | 7/28 | 7 | EMILYHOBBS | O |
| Shrek | Fre[d]dieClayton, Gol[d]member, Ran[d]yWatson | 28/20 | 4 | FIONA | N |
| Mean Girls | Do[u]gArmstrong, Ma[u]raEllis, Pa[u]lWarren | 20/26 | 2 | DAMIANLEIGH | A |
| Heathers | Cha[r]lotteMorris, Geo[r]geKuffs, Lau[r]el | 26/65 | 13 | HEATHERCHANDLER | L |
| Mrs. Doubtfire | J[a]mesBond, M[a]rtyGilbert, M[a]rvaKulp | 65/18 | 1 | STUARTDUNMEYER | S |
| Beetlejuice | Calami[t]yJane, JoePot[t]er, Scarle[t]Smith | 18/45 | 9 | LYDIADEETZ | T |
| Smiles of a Summer Night | Del[i]aMond, Fel[i]xPalmer, Mon[i]kaEriksson | 45/10 | 5 | FREDRIKEGERMAN | R |
| The Little Shop of Horrors | Ge[o]rgeHanson, No[o]kieNorth, St[o]nyGratoni | 10/40 | 10 | SEYMOURKRELBOINED | E |
| The Apartment | Ed[n]aMitty, Mo[n]icaCrump, Vi[n]centDoane | 40/8 | 8 | FRANKUBELIK | E |
| Monty Python and the Holy Grail | Arthur[S]herlockHolmes, Charle[s]Meatson, Vyache[s]lavMolotov | 8/8 | 8 | LANCELOT | T |
This yields the final clue phrase RATIONAL STREET. Submitting this partial answer gives the hint “Close! Now find a musical which this clue phrase describes.” The musical here is AVENUE Q, which is the answer to this puzzle.