The musical is based on the novel A Death in the Family written by James Agee, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction upon its release in 1957.
[1][2] The title comes from the setting of the story in Knoxville, Tennessee, where original author Agee was from.
The show was announced on February 6, 2019, with a concert reading held in New York City featuring Claybourne Elder.
[3] The musical was originally scheduled to premiere in the spring of 2020 at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, however these plans were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project was conceived by Galati who enlisted the music team of Ahrens and Flaherty to help construct the show.