Event Includes Welcome Sazerac Cocktail, Three-Course Dinner and The Kingfish in the Blue Room Aug. 28

Two decades after its triumphant off-Broadway premiere, The Kingfish is back, with an Aug. 28 production of the one-man play depicting the life and times of famed Louisiana Gov. Huey P. Long at the location he called home in New Orleans – The Roosevelt New Orleans.
Doors open for the performance Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Blue Room. Featuring actor John “Spud” McConnell, the performance also will celebrate Long’s 116th birthday.
“It’s a phenomenal milestone for The Kingfish to be performed at The Roosevelt Hotel,” said Tod Chambers, general manager of The Roosevelt. “Long was one of the hotel’s devotees. He spent so much time here that, according to Louisiana legend, he even built a 90-mile highway, Airline Highway, directly from the state capitol in Baton Rouge to the hotel.”
In addition to the performance, the evening will consist of a three-course dinner, including red velvet birthday cake; a celebratory Sazerac cocktail; and valet parking.
McConnell has received national acclaim for his on-stage portrayals of Louisiana’s most colorful characters, including Huey P. Long (The Kingfish), Earl K. Long (Earl Long in Purgatory) and Ignatius J. Riley (A Confederacy of Dunces). His career also has taken him to Hollywood for three seasons on ABC’s hit television show Roseanne. He also can be heard weekdays on The Spud Show on WWL 870 AM.
“It’s a great theatre story,” McConnell said. “The Kingfish opened in New Orleans in August 1988 for the Republican National Convention, so it’s special to bring the production back to the city where it all began.”
Tickets for the dinner show, which are limited in number, are $185 per person, inclusive of tax and gratuity, and can be purchased by calling The Roosevelt at (504) 648-5380.