First performance 21 October 1969 Original language English language | Genre Comedy | |
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Characters Don BakerMrs. BakerJill TannerRalph Austin Date premiered 21 October 1969 (1969-10-21) Setting Don Baker's apartment, at East 11th Street, New York Adaptations Butterflies Are Free (1972) Similar Destry Rides Again, Come Back - Little Sheba, Agnes of God, Plaza Suite, Brighton Beach Memoirs | ||
Butterflies are free jill monologue
Butterflies Are Free is a play by Leonard Gershe.
Contents
- Butterflies are free jill monologue
- Monologue from butterflies are free by leonard gershe
- Broadway awards and nominations
- References
Loosely based on the life of attorney Harold Krents, the plot revolves around a blind man living in downtown Manhattan whose controlling mother disapproves of his relationship with a free-spirited hippie. The title was inspired by a passage in Charles Dickens' Bleak House: "I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies."
After twelve previews, the Broadway production, directed by Milton Katselas, opened on October 21, 1969, at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 1128 performances. The original cast consisted of Keir Dullea, Blythe Danner, Eileen Heckart, and Paul Michael Glaser. Replacements during the run included Gloria Swanson, Pamela Bellwood, Kipp Osborne and David Huffman. Stephen Schwartz composed the title song.
Gershe, Katselas, Heckart, and Glaser were reunited for the 1972 screen adaptation (set in San Francisco) with Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn.