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Notes: Arkansas scholar Nancy Hendricks and stand-up comedian Grady Jim Robinson had written and performed a play called Miz Caraway & The Kingfish dealing with an interesting aspect in the life of Huey Long, as described in a memorable chapter in the T. Harry Williams Pulitzer Prize biography Huey Long. This came to the attention of Producer-Director Perry Martin. Actor John "Spud" McConnell had played Huey Long in The Kingfish in New York, Earl Long in Earl Long In Purgatory across Louisiana, and Willie Stark - the Huey Long character - in All The King's Men. Martin had produced and directed the former two. He held a read-through with McConnell, actress Janet Shea as Hattie Caraway, and actor-writer-Long scholar Michael Cahill. Martin had apparently received permission to alter the script but maintained the read-through be done as originally written to see if it would play. McConnell, Shea, and Cahill agreed that it was not without its interesting points but that it needed work. A major point of contention was the original ending which depicted Long in an angel's gown and wings mowing the lawn outside the gates of Heaven. Cahill proceeded to rewrite the original extensively, giving it a more realistic basis. McConnell, who naturally felt proprietory concerning the Long characters, contributed a Long stump-speech he had often used. This version was well received in New Orleans.
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