martin mitter <[e-mail]>

Butterflies are free

(theatre)

The story takes place in an apartment in New York, in which Don Baker lives.
One morning, he telephones with his mother. He tells her, that he had a little
party one day ago and besides he says to her, that she shouldn’t visit him for
one month. Suddenly he hears loud noises in the next apartment. After finishing
the telephone call, Don bets his new female neighbour to turn down her TV. They
begin to talk and some times later the girl, named Jill Tanner, comes into Don’s
living room. They talk about their apartments and about Don’s telephone call with
his mother. Don tells Jill that his mother doesn’t believe that he can live alone
and without her help. Besides they talk about the marriage of Jill which lasted
for 6 days. Jill says that it wasn’t Jack’s fault (=her husband). While they are
talking Jill recognises that Don is blind since he was born. Then they talk about
her work - she is an actress (doing off-Broadway plays). Don tells her that his
mother wrote a series of children’s books about a blind boy named Little Donny
Dark. He tells her that after his dad’s death his only friend was Linda Fletcher,
a girl from the neighbourhood. She often visited him and with her help he got
(self-)confidence for the first time. And it was her idea that he should live in an
own apartment.
Jill says that she has a secret box, in which there are a baby tooth of her, her
birth certificate, a picture of her and her testament. She doesn’t want to have
a ‘normal’ funeral. The people should wear coloured + crazy clothes, she wants
tons of flowers, but no wreaths and music of the Rolling Stones. While Don and
Jill are talking, Don’s mother comes in - one month too early.
Mrs. Baker comes and brings Don some shirts as an excuse to come. Jill did a TV
commercial one year ago. For Mrs. Baker Jill isn’t the sort of girl she dreams
for her son. Mrs. Baker wants Don to come home with her. But he wants to sing
and to play the guitar. Don says that, if the music doesn’t work out, then there
will be a lot of other things blind people can do. While Don is shopping, there is a
discussion between Mrs. Baker and Jill. Mrs. Baker wants Jill to send Don home.
But she says that he should go his own ways.
This evening Jill has her audition. For this reason she forgets the dinner with
Don. Mrs. Baker and Don are waiting for her until 10 o’clock instead of 7.30.
While they are waiting they listen to the song “Butterflies are free”, which Don
wrote. Jill comes home late. Jill tells Don that she fell in love with Ralph and
that she will leave her apartment for this reason. After a discussion Mrs. Baker
goes home alone. Don says that she only leaves him because she is afraid of
falling in love with him - a blind man. After Jill went out of Don’s apartment, he
crushes the flowers and lies on the floor with tears filling his eyes. But suddenly
Jill is standing next to him...