[2] Ames cast a Black actress, Emma Wise, to play the Minicks' maid, which was unusual at a time when most productions were racially segregated.

In New London, a disused theater was reopened for the preview, which was interrupted by the emergence of hundreds of bats that had taken up residence in the building while it was closed.

[3] The characters and opening night cast from the Broadway production are given below:[5] The play received positive reviews from critics.

"[7] Stark Young wrote in a review for The New York Times, "The whole tone of the play is constantly funny, loving and tragic altogether.

The long gap between the generations of these people, the lack of any idea that might bring them closer to each other: the barren mediocrity of their lives, their good intentions, their good hearts, their stupid interests, and most of all the dumbness of human beings toward each other no matter what they feel, these are the themes that are woven into the texture of the piece.