A Christmas musical, the work was created for the Danish dancer Adeline Genée who portrays the central character of Viola.
As a young child, Viola was found abandoned and wearing a silver star by a hobo-musician, Professor Alfonzo Dinel, who has raised her as his adopted daughter.
[1] Playwright Harry B. Smith was hired by Broadway producers Klaw and Erlanger to create a Christmas musical tailored for the talents of Adeline Genée.
Several different composers were enlisted to write the music for the show, including Robert Hood Bowers, C. J. M. Glaser, Jean Schwartz, Raymond Hubbell, Al Piantadosi and Karl Hoschna.
[1] In addition to Genée, the cast included George Bickel as Professor Alonzo Dingelblatz, Harry Watson as Doctor Algernon Hornblower, and Barney Bernard as Mr.