On Sep. 8, 1935, Senator Huey P. Long was fatally shot in the Louisiana state Capitol’s corridors. His alleged killer was Dr. Carl Austin Weiss, who was shot dead by Long’s bodyguards at the scene. The identity of Long’s killer has never been proven, starting controversy and debate.
That controversy sparked the creation of “Who Killed the Kingfish?,” a two-act drama that runs Thursday, Oct. 27 to Sunday, Oct. 30 in the Hopkins Black Box Theatre in 137 Coates Hall. Donations of $5 and higher will be accepted at the door.
David Zinman, former New Orleans Associated Press writer, and Michael Wynne, University graduate, wrote the play.
The show considers what would happen if Weiss had lived to tell his side of the story, said Zinman, who wrote the groundbreaking book “The Day Huey Long Was Shot” in 1963.
“It’s never been out of print and is used in LSU classrooms,” Zinman said of the book.
The play is about the trial that would have happened if Weiss had lived to testify, said Wynne, who has the largest private archive of Louisiana political memorabilia.
“I consider myself extremely knowledgeable about Huey Long,” Wynne said. “And having all of David’s knowledge was a great asset.”
He said the evidence about who killed Long is so unsteady that there was no way to know what really happened, so the playwrights will let the audience decide.
Zinman said that jurors will be picked from the audience after every show to decide whether Weiss was innocent of guilty of killing Long.
“What happened at Long’s assassination has always been controversial,” Zinman said. “It would be interesting to let the people make the choice.”
Jacqueline D. Burleson, show director and theater manager of the Hopkins Black Box, said she did not want audience members to feel pressured or to have to come on stage if they did not want to.
“I put the audience risers in 12 rows,” Burleson said. “Each row will have a representative.”
Many people may come into the play with an opinion on who killed Long, but whether the audience members come in thinking Long was killed by Weiss, aliens, the mafia or an outside source, the show may alter their opinion, Burleson said.
Wynne said the play took one year to write, but it took five years to find a producer.
“The hardest part of a play isn’t writing it, it’s getting it produced,” Wynne said. “LSU has accepted the challenge.”
Wynne said he is excited the show will be at the University.
“LSU is such a perfect venue – it’s Huey Long’s college,” Wynne said.
Zinman said the show is based on history, but they have taken some liberties to make the play engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking.
Wynne said that neither he nor Zinman had written a play before this one.
“We made a perfect match,” Wynne said. “I think we have a magnificent play.”
Burleson said the show will be thought-provoking and might spark further controversy.
“I just don’t buy it,” Burleson said. “I don’t know exactly who killed the Kingfish.”
Contact Julie Chance at [email protected]