Feiffer felt an affinity with the work of improvisational theater groups, such as Second City, that created satirical sketches from topical matters. As a playwright, he often collaborated with directors and actors having roots in improvisational theater as he did with The White House Murder Case. The play satirized a future administration’s attempts to cover up a war crime. When the Nixon administration invaded Cambodia, the play “seemed too close to reality,” Feiffer later wrote, “Overnight, audiences shunned us.”