Working with intense concentration, Capote managed to complete a draft of the play in a year's time.

The adaptation, produced by Subber and directed by Robert Lewis, opened on March 27, 1952, at Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 36 performances.

The cast included Mildred Natwick as Dolly Talbo, Ruth Nelson as Verena Talbo, Jonathan Harris as Dr. Morris Ritz, Sterling Holloway as The Barber, Gertrude Flynn as The Baker's Wife, Val Dufour as The Sheriff, Jane Lawrence as The Choir Mistress, Lenka Peterson as Maude Riordan, and Alice Pearce as Miss Baby Love Dallas.

[2] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times praised the play, calling it "beautiful", with "lightness and grace".

[4] Designer Cecil Beaton won the 1951-52 Donaldson Award in the category of "Setting (play)".