Emily Stevens was the leading lady in a Broadhurst Theatre production of "The Madonna of the Future", which premiered in late January 1918. Maxwell-Conover acted the part of "Mrs. Van Duzen". Near the final curtain of the three-act comedy Maxwell-Conover spoke to Stevens, saying "You are so charming: you mean something! I don't in the least know what you mean, but that is what makes you charming." During the first two acts Stevens' character resolves to bear a child without being married. She announces this to her neighbors in Tarrytown, New York. The audience was shocked by the frankness of the language employed by the characters. Written by playwright Alan Dale, the dialogue "was brilliant". Her neighbors are further startled when Stevens delivers her baby, which comes to light in the comedy's second portion. In the third act she discovers that she loves the child's father and would rather marry him than see him wed someone else.