LePetit asks: ‘Who Killed the Kingfish?’

More than 74 years later, questions still surround the Sept. 8, 1935, death of Louisiana’s most colorful political figure – Huey P. Long.

The official story has it that Dr. Carl Austin Weiss, a respected 29-year-old Baton Rouge physician, fired the fatal shot that ended the political aspirations of Louisiana’s youngest governor and U.S. senator. However, conspiracy theorists suggest Weiss merely punched the Kingfish, and that the senator’s bodyguards overreacted, firing a hail of bullets and killing their boss in the process.

LePetit de Terrebonne Theatre tackles the question in “Who Killed the Kingfish?” which runs Feb. 27 through March 7.

David Zinman, former New Orleans Associated Press reporter and author of “The Day Huey Long Was Shot,” teamed with historian Michael Wynne to write the two-act play, which centers on the premise that Weiss survived the shooting that September day. Left a paraplegic by a bodyguard’s bullet and facing a first-degree murder charge, he is brought to trial.

Shoddy investigative work, no autopsy of Long’s body and basically only bodyguards’ testimony, the case is a prime playground for conspiracy theories. But “Who Killed the Kingfish?” finally allows Weiss to take the stand in his own defense. And with a 12-person jury from the audience carefully weighing the evidence each night, a verdict is rendered.

“I don’t want to influence the audience, but I don’t think Weiss did it,” says LePetit director Greg Whitney. “I think there are some conspiracy theories that have merit.”

Whitney’s experience as a retired Louisiana State Police trooper, paired with his research as a history buff and one-on-one meetings with Wynne, half of the play’s writing team, has provided a better understanding of this controversial murder. Wynne also made a trek to Houma when rehearsals began to give the cast insight into Long’s death.

“There were a lot of things that I knew about [the shooting] historically, and then people made a number of accusations,” the director says. “I’ve always had a heightened interest in the investigation of this killing.”

Huey P. Long’s rise to infamy was fueled by the good he did for the poor, Whitney says. “But he did it running roughshod over a lot of people. He’s the closest thing to a dictator that America has ever known.”

With charm, finesse and an iron fist, Long ruled. “There’s a lot of similarities between Long and [former Gov. Edward] Edwards in the beginning of his career,” Whitney says.

LePetit’s “Kingfish” cast stars Reggie Pontiff as Dr. Weiss; Harry Hyatt as Sen. Long; Frank Davis as state Attorney General Gaston B. Porterie; Janet Owens as defense attorney Cecile Morgan; Bud Bornes as Judge Oliver P. Carriere, who presides over the trial; Danielle Marchive as Yvonne Pavy Weiss; Harlan Belanger doubles as Dr. Carl Weiss and bodyguard Murphy Roden; Mike Brossette as Tom Ed Weiss; Gordon Moss as Rep. Edmund Burke; Matthew Deroche as bodyguard George Washington Huckabee; Joel Waldron as Supreme Court Justice John Fournet; Scott Goodwin as witness Dr. William Cook and Rep. Jack Williamson; Lydia Courtney-Voight as witness Pauline LeBlanc; Matthew Marantz as the Rev. Gerald L. K. Smith; Dwayne Adams as Gen. Louis P. Guerre and Earl Long; Brandon Dufrene as police juror Cornelius Hammond; Patti Loupe as Alice Grosjean, Long’s secretary and confidante; and, in a newly-added role, Brandon Walker as the court bailiff.

“The cast is working hard, and we should definitely have an excellent production by opening night that will give a well-rounded look at the case and let the audience decide what really happened,” Whitney says.

Tickets are $12. Curtain is at 7 p.m. nightly with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays. To reserve seats, call (985) 876-4278.