Jim Behr said he’s always loved the little play called “Butterflies are Free.”
“It’s a marvelous little romantic comedy,” said the Zion resident, actor and director.
But, he added, it’s more than that — the play written by Leonard Gershe in 1969 invites the audience to examine their own beliefs about handicapped persons and familial relationships, he said.
The play particularly speaks to the mother/son relationship, said Behr, director of the Three Brothers Theatre production of the play opening Sept. 2.
The main character is blind and he’s been sheltered all his life, living with his mother, Behr said. “He’s launched out on his own and she can’t handle it. She’s lost control and she doesn’t like it.
“There’s also the romantic angle with free spirit, flower-child girl who lives next door to him.”
The play also speaks to society’s attitudes toward the handicapped. “As soon as she finds out he’s blind, she just freaks out,” Behr said.
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“Suddenly, the whole dynamic of their relationship changes. It’s normal to him, but it makes her feel self-conscious.”
And yet, she gets involved and has an argument with his mother about letting her son go. “There’s this marvelous scene where his mother is trying to get him to come back home and the girl is saying, ‘No, he’s a grown man, he should stay here.'”
Being the flower child type, the young woman doesn’t want involvement or commitments, and his mother responds, “You go have your kicks with somebody who won’t feel them after you’re gone.”
Actually, she does have her kicks — with an older man, which introduces another theme, the May/December relationship. In the original play the other man is about the same age, but Behr decided to cast an older man and introduce a little extra drama.
Still, he is working hard to remain true to the period both in speech and in costume, he said.
“We’re keeping true to the period. It’s a setting in the 1970s,” he said. “We’re keeping the ‘groovies’ and the ‘far-outs’ in there.”
As a director, he doesn’t want anyone to tell him the speech isn’t true to the era, he said. He’s done a lot of research online and is also explaining a few things to the 20-something actors who play the main characters.
When the female lead talks about the music she’d like to have played at her funeral, she refers to Simon and Garfunkel. Behr had to explain that Simon and Garfunkel were part of a group, not two different bands. “She had no idea who they were. There have been a couple of situations like that.”
Behr said people should come see the play because, “It’s fun and it will make you feel good about life in general.”
The characters are likable, he said, and they all grow and change, which makes for a happy ending.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
“Butterflies are Free”
When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 2-24
Where: Three Brothers Theatre, 115 N. Genesee St., Waukegan
Tickets: $20 for adults; $15 seniors and students
Information: 224-419-4235; www.3brostheatre.com