The Ladies of the Camellias, by Lillian Groag, is a hilarious farce about an imagined meeting in Paris, 1897, between the famous theater divas Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse. The two actresses—who were the biggest and most temperamental stars of their day—were scheduled to perform back-to-back productions of the play The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas. Into this tense situation comes Ivan, a young Russian anarchist who threatens to blow up everyone in the theater—especially the two divas—unless his comrades are released from prison. Bernhardt and Duse must meet and greet each other for the first time as they are taken hostage by the armed Ivan, yet remain the ultimate theater professionals.