View source for The Subject Was Roses

{{Short description|1964 play by American playwright Frank D. Gilroy}}
{{for|the 1968 film|The Subject Was Roses (film)}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = The Subject Was Roses
| image      = SubjectWasRosesBookCover.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption    = 
| writer     = [[Frank D. Gilroy]]
| characters = John Cleary<br>Nettie Cleary<br>Timmy Cleary 
| setting    = the Clearys' apartment, 1946 
| premiere   = May 25, 1964
| place      = [[Royale Theatre]]<br>[[New York City, New York]]
| orig_lang  = [[English language|English]]
| subject    = 
| genre      = Drama
}}

'''''The Subject Was Roses''''' is a [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Pulitzer Prize]]-winning 1964 play written by [[Frank D. Gilroy]], who also adapted the work in 1968 for a film with the same title.

==Synopsis==
Timmy Cleary returns home from his service during World War II. While he seems to vindicate himself in his father's eyes for surviving the war, his drinking and cursing disturb his mother. Though his parents, John and Nettie, seem to be happy, the peace proves to be a façade. Soon old emotional wounds and unresolved marital problems resurface. Caught in the middle, Timmy feels responsible for their squabbling, but can see no way to resolve their problems.

==Production==
The play premiered on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[Royale Theatre]] on May 25, 1964, starring [[Jack Albertson]], [[Irene Dailey]], and [[Martin Sheen]], and directed by [[Ulu Grosbard]]. A major critical and commercial success, the play ran 832 performances and was nominated for five [[Tony Awards]], winning two: Best Play and Best Featured Actor (Albertson). For his work in the play, Gilroy won the year's [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]].  [[Columbia Records]] recorded the complete play in a recording studio with the original cast members and released it as a double-LP set.

In the published script, Gilroy included a day-by-day journal he titled, ''About Those Roses or How 'Not' To Do a Play and Succeed''. According to the journal, "''The Subject Was Roses'' opened on Broadway with a producer who had never produced a Broadway play; a director who had never directed one; a scenic artist who had never designed one; a general manager who had never managed one; and three actors who were virtually unknown."{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Additionally, the play opened ''after'' all of the award deadlines, so it was not eligible until the following year, triumphing over [[Neil Simon]]'s ''[[The Odd Couple (play)|The Odd Couple]]'', [[Murray Schisgal]]'s ''[[Luv (play)|Luv]]'' and [[Edward Albee]]'s ''[[Tiny Alice]]'' for the Tony Award, the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] Award and the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]].  During the play's two-year run, ''The Subject Was Roses'' played five different Broadway theaters and [[Dustin Hoffman]] became a replacement stage manager and understudied the role of Timmy.

In 1991, the [[Roundabout Theatre Company]] revived the play in New York City with [[John Mahoney]], [[Dana Ivey]] and [[Patrick Dempsey]].  A 2006 revival of the play was produced by [[Jeffrey Finn]] at the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|Kennedy Center]] starring [[Bill Pullman]], [[Judith Ivey]], and Steve Kazee.  All three performers were nominated for 2007 [[Helen Hayes Award]]s. In a 2009 revival in Los Angeles, Martin Sheen again appeared, this time in the role of the father.<ref name="npr">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123847547|title=Father And Son: Sheen Revisits 'Subject Was Roses'|last=Jaffe|first=Ina|date=February 21, 2010|access-date=22 February 2010}}</ref>

==Cast and characters==
* [[Irene Dailey]] as Nettie Cleary
* [[Jack Albertson]] as John Cleary
* [[Martin Sheen]] as Timmy Cleary

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="6" align="center"| 1965
| [[Pulitzer Prize]]
| [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Drama]]
| [[Frank D. Gilroy]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/frank-d-gilroy |title=Frank D. Gilroy |publisher=[[Pulitzer Prize]] |access-date=October 2, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[19th Tony Awards|Tony Awards]]
| [[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]]
| Frank D. Gilroy and [[Edgar Lansbury (producer)|Edgar Lansbury]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1965/category/any/show/any/ |title=1965 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=October 2, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play|Best Featured Actor in a Play]]
| [[Jack Albertson]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Martin Sheen]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play|Best Direction of a Play]]
| [[Ulu Grosbard]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Author|Best Author (Play)]]
| Frank D. Gilroy
| {{nom}}
|}

==Film adaptation==
{{main article|The Subject Was Roses (film)}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|The Subject Was Roses}}
* {{IBDB show|8383}}
* {{IBDB title|3202}}
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q1570822|id=tt0063654|title=The Subject Was Roses|description=(film)}}

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''The Subject Was Roses''
|list = 
{{Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1951-1975}}
{{TonyAwardBestPlay 1947-1975}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subject Was Roses, The}}
[[Category:1964 plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama–winning works]]
[[Category:Tony Award–winning plays]]
[[Category:American plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Plays set in New York City]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1946]]