- Performances: 1,128
- Open / Close: October 21, 1969 – July 2, 1972
- Theater: Booth Theatre.
- Tony Awards: The production was nominated for 3 Tony Awards. I mention in the podcast episode that Blythe Danner won for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the role given to Goldie Hawn for the movie version. She beat out Eileen Heckart in the same category. Don’t feel too bad for Eileen — she was the only principle from the play that made it into the movie version and she won an Oscar for that. I don’t mention in the podcast that the director was Milton Katselas and that he was also nominated for a Tony.
- Fun Fact: I mention this in the podcast but it’s worth repeating: playing the minor character, Ralph, in the original production was Paul Michael Glaser who would of course go on to play Starsky in “Starsky and Hutch.” He would never appear on Broadway again after this show.
Podcast
Matt Bloch played the character of Don Baker in a production of “Butterflies Are Free” back in 2010 and so knows first-hand the challenges of portraying someone visually impaired on stage. Not only is he a great actor but he’s got insightful thoughts about the show and its place in the Broadway pantheon. Personally, it was just a pleasure to discover an older show that didn’t make me cringe because of how dated it was.