[3] McNally had previously collaborated with Schwartz and Jerome on the musical Lifting the Lid which premiered four months before Fritz in Tammany Hall at Broadway's Aerial Gardens on June 5, 1905.
[2] The musical was produced by Klaw and Erlanger, co-directed and choreographed by Herbert Gresham and Ned Wayburn, and used sets by Frank Platzer and Meixner.
The plot centered around a German immigrant, the baker Fritz von Swobenfritz, who unexpectedly in elected to the New York City Board of Aldermen and is thrust into the politics surrounding Tammany Hall.
The role of Swobenfritz was a re-creation of a character made famous on the American stage by the actor J. K. Emmet (1841–1891) during the 19th century.
[5] Stella Mayhew achieved particular success in this production as the Irish widow Mrs. Hart-Judson singing the hit song "I'm a Woman of Importance"; a recording of which is included in the CD anthology Music of the New York Stage.