Kismet was first produced by Oscar Asche at the Garrick Theatre, London, on 19 April 1911.
[1] The play was then accepted by the Theatrical Syndicate, and staged at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York, produced by Harrison Grey Fiske.
It opened on Broadway on Christmas Day 1911, and the leading roles were then taken by Otis Skinner and Rita Jolivet.
[2] Hajj the beggar escapes the clutches of a vengeful bandit, drowns the evil Wazir of Police, catches the eye of the Wazir's voluptuous wife, serves as Emir of Baghdad, and sees his daughter wed to the handsome Caliph.
Asche led a successful tour of the play in Australia in 1911–12, and upon his return to London, he revived Kismet.