The original Broadway production of "The First Breeze of Summer" by Leslie Lee opened at the Palace Theater in New York on June 10, 1975, ran for 48 performances and was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for the Best Play. Ethel Ayler, Charles Brown, Frances Foster, Moses Gunn, Janet League, Barbara Montgomery, Lou Myers, Petronia and Reyno recreated their stage roles in this filmed production.