Produced by a troupe called "The Bostonians", it premiered on Broadway on March 16, 1897 at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran initially for 79 performances.

[1] Herbert's second Broadway success (after The Wizard of the Nile), The Serenade is a romantic comedy about a song that sweeps the Spanish countryside.

Romero (the President of the Royal Madrid Brigandage Association) and his group of bandits lie in wait to ambush travelers, including Alvarado and Dolores, the ward of the Duke of Santa Cruz.

The Duke, who plans to wed his ward, has come to his castle to avoid the leading baritone of the Madrid Opera who has wooed and won the heart of his Dolores by singing her a serenade.

Colombo, from his tower, dons a Mephistopheles costume and scares the bandits away by making them believe the castle is haunted.

The Duke leaves with Alvarado, who secretly plans to tip their carriage into a ditch and return for Dolores.

Gomez arrives seeking help, having enraged a traveler in an overturned carriage (the Duke) by singing the serenade.

Gomez sings the serenade to woo "Dolores", attracting the attention of the Duke who, after discovering his mistake, vows that he has had enough of such adventures and returns to deal with "Alvarado".