Butterflies Are Free
Butterflies Are Free
By Leonard Gershe
Directed by Heather Lucia Bass
Starring Daniel Boisrond, Katelyn Douglass
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park, FL</strong>
Escaping to smothering affection of a Jewish Super-mom is tougher than dealing with blindness, but Don Baker (Boisrond) is giving it a fair shot. He’s moved down from Scarsdale to the Bowery, and by exceptional housekeeping and complete concentration while walking he’s kept himself together in his cardboard walled apartment. Next door cutie pie Jill (Douglass) blasts her TV, and when he asks her to turn it down she invites herself over. She moves quickly, they meet, fornicate and move on fast enough to make your eyes blink. As Baker discovers women his mom (Sue Cohen) drops in unexpectedly and lets fly with both barrels. She doesn’t like the neighborhood, the furniture, Jill, or the idea he can be self sufficient without her. She does squeeze off a mom and daughter talk with Jill, but when Jill comes back from an audition Don’s whole world has shifted.
Despite the jarring color blind casting, this show was hitting on all cylinders after only a weeks rehearsal by Boisrond. He completely sold his role even if he occasionally made eye contact with his fellow actors. His portrayal of a young man wresting with independence and physical limitations stuck home, and made you wince when his mother did her best to shoot him down. He was well matched with Sue Cohen as his mother; she clearly has life experience that shows her orginal zip code wasn’t that far from Scarsdale, at least in outlook and expectations. Sometimes I wondered if she was acting, or explain to her own children the errors of their slumming ways.
While this show has a few dated lines, it was constantly funny and touching. Baker’s reaction when he discovered Jill’s hairpiece was a dream, and Douglass was cute and sexy and flighty as the ideal New York Girl Next Door. I’m not sure exactly when a play switches form “dated” to “period Piece” but I’m sure this one will make the transition successfully.
For more information, please visit http://www.breakthroughtheatre.com
