''Adonis'' is an 1884

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

produced by

Edward E. Rice Edward Everett Rice (December 21, 1847 – November 16, 1924) was an American musical theatre composer and producer active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known as a pioneer of American musical theatre, who introduced to Broadway ' ...

who also composed the music along with John Eller. The book was written by William Gill. After playing at

Hooley Hooley is a village in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. Within its small grid of streets is the 13th-century church of Chipstead which has been, since time immemorial, its ecclesiastical parish. Hooley is connected via pa ...

's Opera House in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in the summer of 1884, it debuted at the Bijou Theatre in New York on September 4, 1884.(5 September 1884)
Amusements. Bijou Opera House (opening night review
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' It there had a run of 603 consecutive performances, making it the longest-running show on Broadway during that period, and the longest Broadway run of all time until 1893. It was co-written and directed by Henry E. Dixey, who also starred as the titular Adonis.Brown, T. Allston. ''A History of the New York Stage, Vol. 3'', pp. 282-83 (1903) ''Adonis'' tells the story of a gorgeous male statue that comes to life and finds human ways so unpleasant that he chooses to turn back into stone – after spoofing several famous personalities.Hischak, Thomas S
The Oxford Companion to the American Musical
p. 6 (2008) The company traveled to London after the play closed in New York.(13 May 1886)
Adonis on the Waves. Dixey starting for England amid the cheers of hosts of friends
''

''(1 July 1886)
The Reception of "Adonis" In England
''Tid-Bits'' After the show successfully ran for 500 shows, a cocktail, the

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord".R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by a ...

, was named in its honor.

Character list and descriptions

The official program for the play described the characters as such: *Adonis, an accomplished young gentleman of undeniably good family, insomuch as he can trace his ancestry back through the Genozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleozoic period, until he finds it resting on the Archaean time. His family name, by the way, is ‘Marble’. *Marquis de Baccarat, a highly polished villain. It is well enough to describe his character, as no one would think it to look at him. *Bunion Turke, father of Rosetta, an unblushing appropriator of the stock in trade of a well-known and worthy old histrionic miller. *Talamea, a sculptor who, like most of her sex, is in love with her own creation. *Artea, a Goddess, Patroness of the fine arts. *Duchess of Area, aesthetic to the verge of eccentricity, rich to the verge of Millionairism, sentimental to the verge of gush. *Lady Nattie, daughter of the Duchess. She and her sisters Hattie, Mattie, and Pattie are professional beauties. *Lady Hattie, daughter of the Duchess. She and her sisters Nattie, Mattie, and Pattie are professional beauties. *Lady Mattie, daughter of the Duchess. She and her sisters Nattie, Hattie, and Pattie are professional beauties. *Lady Pattie, daughter of the Duchess. She and her sisters Nattie, Hattie, and Mattie are professional beauties. *Rosetta, a simple village maiden, the happy possessor of a clear conscience and a strong will. *Gyles, Nyles, Myles, & Byles, ordinary everyday rustics. *Gills, Bills, Sills, & Tills, homely rustics (who will perform a circus). *The Plumed Knights.

Original Broadway cast

* Henry E. Dixey ... Adonis *George W. Howard ... Bunion Turke (played as a

Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

C.W. Couldock Charles Walter Couldock (26 April 1815 – 27 November 1898) was a popular 19th-century English actor. History Born in Long Acre, England, he made his stage debut in Shakespeare's Othello at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1835.

's role of Dunstan Kirke in the very popular play ''

Hazel Kirke ''Hazel Kirke'' is a play in four acts written by American actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. Overview The play was written between 1878 and 1879 in the town of Dublin, New Hampshire.Quinn, p. 497 MacKaye meant it to be expressly for New York ...

''Ganzl, Kurt
William B. Gill: From the Goldfields to Broadway
p. 144 (2002)) *Herbert Gresham ... Marquis *Ida Bell ... Lady Nattie *Lillie Grubb ... Talamea *Jennie Reiffarth ... Duchess *Louise Eissing ... Artea * Amelia Summerville ... Rosetta

References

History of the Musical Stage 1870s-1880s: Burlesques and PantomimesImage of original cast program

External links

* {{s-end 1884 musicals Broadway musicals