Williams expanded and revised it, and the play, directed by Keith Hack, who had directed a critically acclaimed production of the Williams play Vieux Carré in London two years earlier, premiered at the Spoleto Arts Festival in Charleston, South Carolina in June 1978, with Shirley Knight as Dorothea.
The play finally received its world premiere in New York City in April 2012, directed by David Schweizer and starring Shirley Knight as Babe.
It was directed by John Pasquin, and Shirley Knight starred as Betty, F. Murray Abraham as Holahan, Paul McCrane as Bert, Rex Robbins as Durwood Peach, Jay O. Sanders as the Bike Messenger/Dope King/Bank Teller, Bonnie Deroski as Margie, Alexa Kenin as Joanne, Anthony Marciona as Donny, Richard Bauer as Raulito, and Peg Murray as Rosalie.
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McBain, whose character appeared only in the last part of the film, held her own against the three female leads, Martha Hyer, Carolyn Jones and Shirley Knight as well as stars Richard Burton and Robert Ryan.
A television movie based on the book was released on January 7, 1995, in the USA, starring Jake Richardson, Florence Henderson, Eve Plumb, Shirley Knight, Alex Karras, Luke Tarsitano, and Darren McGavin.
She plays a supporting role in the 1981 film Take This Job and Shove It, starring Barbara Hershey and also in 1981 appears in the Franco Zeffirelli Oscar nominated Endless Love, starring Brooke Shields and Shirley Knight.
Alongside Shirley Knight, leading players are James Caan and Robert Duvall, both of whom would later work with Coppola in The Godfather.
The 1997 Broadway production of the play at the Longacre Theatre was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, William Biff McGuire for Best Performance by a Featured Actor, Shirley Knight for the Best Performance by a Leading Actress and Director David Richenthal for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.