Butterflies Are Free (play)

This article is about the play. For the film, see Butterflies Are Free.

Butterflies Are Free is a play by Leonard Gershe. The plot revolves around a blind man living in downtown Manhattan whose controlling mother disapproves of his relationship with a free-spirited hippie.^[1][2]

Butterflies Are Free
Written by	Leonard Gershe
Characters	Don Baker Mrs. Baker Jill Tanner Ralph Austin
Date premiered	21 October 1969 (1969-10-21)
Place premiered	Booth Theatre
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
Setting	Don Baker's apartment, at East 11th Street, New York

Directed by Milton Katselas, the original Broadway production opened on October 21, 1969, at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 1,128 performances. The original cast consisted of Keir Dullea, Blythe Danner, Eileen Heckart, and Paul Michael Glaser. In 1972, it was adapted into a film starring Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn.^[2]

Silent film star Gloria Swanson, well known for her role of Norma Desmond in the film "Sunset Boulevard", played the mother role (Mrs. Baker) in "Butterflies Are Free" in 1971–72 in the national tour and on Broadway.