Adonis is a musical burlesque in two acts with both book and lyrics by William Gill that is a spoof of the Pygmalion myth.

[1] 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.

[2] 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.

[3] In the tradition of a pastiche, the music for Adonis was largely derived from a variety of 19th century operetta composers;[4] among them Edmond Audran, David Braham, Jacques Offenbach, Robert Planquette, Johann Strauss II, Arthur Sullivan, and Franz von Suppé.

The Duchess of Area and her four silly daughters, Nattie, Hattie, Mattie, and Pattie, visit Talamea's studio and admire her creation.

The villain of the play, the Marquis de Baccarat, also arrives under the pretext of examining Talamea's creation, but with the intent of trying to seduce the duchess in order to obtain her money.

Alone, Talamea cannot bear to lose her beloved creation, and invokes the goddess Artea to bring the statue Adonis to life.

The song featured the tenor Horace Frail, a longtime ensemble player for Rice, singing a "high C" for an extended period; a feat which earned him plaudits in the press and made him an audience favorite.

This scene has no plot but featured Adonis showing off his sleight of hand abilities, a barbershop quartet, and other random entertainments.

[3] Adonis premiered at Hooley's Theater in Chicago on July 6, 1884 in a performance by Rice's Big Burlesque Company with conductor John Eller leading the musical forces.

[3] After playing for the summer of 1884 in Chicago, most of the same cast continued in the production when it reached Broadway's Bijou Theatre in New York City on September 4, 1884.

[16] Sources vary on the original cast member in the role of Artea with T. Allston Brown in his A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 1 claiming it was the actress Louise Eissing, and William Gill biographer and music theatre historian Kurt Gänzl stating it was the San Francisco based actress and singer Carrie Godfrey.

[11] The show gave its 500th performance on 7 January 1886; an event which was marked by the creation of 500 plaster statuettes of Dixon which were all sold that night.

While Dixey's performance was well received, the show as a whole was not well reviewed in England and failed to repeat the success it had achieved on the New York stage.