Adonis (musical)

Adonis is a musical burlesque in two acts with both book and lyrics by William Gill that is a spoof of the Pygmalion myth. Set in Greece, the musical tells the story of a gorgeous male statue of the mythological figure Adonis that comes to life and finds human ways so unpleasant that he chooses to turn back into stone – after spoofing several famous personalities. Originally envisioned as a starring vehicle for the actor Henry E. Dixey in the role of the Adonis, the play parodies the Pygmalion tale through a gender reversal in which the statue come-to-life is not female but male. In so doing the story is no longer one of the sexual objectification of a woman, but instead places a man as the embodied object of sexual desire.

In the tradition of a pastiche, the music for Adonis was largely derived from a variety of 19th century operetta composers; among them Edmond Audran, David Braham, Jacques Offenbach, Robert Planquette, Johann Strauss II, Arthur Sullivan, and Franz von Suppé. The work also used music by other classical music composers like Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Original lyrics by Gill were put to this musical material. Edward E. Rice and John Eller played a role in selecting and arranging this music by other composers, and they also both contributed some original music to the work. The work also included several vaudeville style entertainments which were envisioned, choreographed, and directed by Dixey. In addition to creating music for Adonis, Rice was the producer of the musical and Eller served as the show's music director for both the original 1884 Chicago production and the long-running Broadway production. James C. Scanlan was listed as the stage director of both the original Chicago and Broadway productions, and Dixey was also credited as director of the Broadway production.

Adonis was the longest running musical of the Gilded Age. Some writers on musical theatre history have described the work as "Broadway's first hit musical" because it was the first Broadway stage work, musical or otherwise, to surpass a performance count of 500 performances in a Broadway theatre. Other writers, however, have stated that the The Black Crook (1866, premiere) deserves the distinction as the "first hit musical" because it was the first musical to have an extended run on Broadway. Adonis premiered in 1884 and was the first musical to surpass The Black Crook's performance record;breaking Broadway box-office records for profits, ticket sales, and performance longevity.