What a happy time we had doing Butterflies are Free at Judson Theatre Company, March 7-10, 2024. After a while, you do a lot of shows, and your first wish when the next one comes along is twofold: a great script and a talented, professional, hardworking cast…everything else will usually work out if you have that. And we did, led by Morgan Fairchild. She brought heart, elegance, and impeccable timing to the role of Florence Baker. And she’s a complete delight to work with—the total professional.

I’d known Stephen Shore for years, but this was the first time the stars aligned for us to work together. He anchored the show with an excellent leading-man performance as Don Baker that made you really care about what happened to him, without losing any of the comedy. Talented, hardworking, prepared, professional—the kind of actor who is a pleasure to direct. Morgan-Ellene Davis captured all of Jill Tanner’s qualities. The role is a tricky mix of heart and humor and quirkiness, and her beautiful light shone through every scene she was in. Cedric Gegel played Ralph Austin and he, too, knew just what to do with a role that doesn’t have a ton of stage time but still has to make an impression and be fleshed out with a detailed characterization.

From the outset, I had resisted directing on JTC’s mainstage—being Executive Producer is a full-time job when we are in production. When I’m directing at other theatres, all I have to do is direct the play. Nonetheless, I agreed to direct Butterflies are Free because I knew the playwright, Leonard Gershe. It was a personal dream come true to honor his memory with this production and to see the play work like gangbusters (it always has).

I’ll always be grateful to everyone who worked on Butterflies are Free for collaborating on an excellent production and some wonderful memories. Thank you to everyone who took the time to see it.

BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE triumphs at Judson Theatre Company

BULLET POINTS