On an April night in 1867 Paris, journalist Léon Fauchery and his cousin Hector de la Faloise, arrive early to a play, The Blond Venus, on its debut night at the Théâtre des Variétés. When they encounter the director and producer Bordenave, he assures them that the play’s star, whom he has advertised heavily, cannot act or sing well at all, but will nevertheless be a sensation because “Nana has something else, […] something that makes all the other stuff superfluous” (6).

More audience members stream into their seats: a wealthy banker named Steiner; the husband of one of the actresses, Auguste Mignon; a well-known man-about-town, Labordette; and a handsome but poor ladies’ man rumored to be Nana’s lover, Paul Daguenet. The members of one of the most prominent families are also in attendance: the Comte de Muffat, his wife Sabine, and his father-in-law the Marquis de Chouard.

In the lobby, the crowd eagerly awaits the play, joyfully shouting the name of the star advertised on nearby placards, carried away to the point of ripping each other’s clothes. When the play begins, however, it is hardly an immediate triumph. The first and second acts are dull as the audience impatiently awaits Nana’s entrance.