Milwaukee Chamber Theatre continues its series of producing Pulitzer Prize-winning plays with The Subject Was Roses. In 1964-65, the show won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play. The original cast starred Jack Albertson as the father, Irene Dailey as his wife and Martin Sheen as their son. Both Albertson and Sheen also starred in the 1968 film, with Patricia Neal as the mother.
At first glance, the current production may seem like an odd choice for a holiday show. Set in 1946, Roses focuses on the inevitable change in family dynamics when a son returns home from war. The family lives in a middle-class apartment in the Bronx. The action takes place in the family's living room and adjoining kitchen. As the play opens, the family is waking up after a late-night welcome home bash for the son, Timmy Cleary. The parents have been in a state of suspended animation during his absence, and they are almost afraid to breathe a sigh of relief upon his return. Both Timmy and his father, John, are nursing hangovers.
It's clear that Timmy has left home as a boy and returned a man. He is not as quick to respond to his parents' suggestions. He has his own opinions now, and he wants them to be respected. An only child, Timmy is convinced that he can rekindle a warm relationship between his parents. Time and distance have given Timmy a new perspective on the home front. Before he left for war, Timmy was aligned with his mother. After he returns, Timmy has a better understanding of his father. He sees how his father's early hardships have made him into the bitter, authoritarian figure he is today. But now the father, grateful at his son's return, wants to establish a new-found camaraderie. He recalls the time when, as a young man, he raced to the recruitment center as soon as news of the war broke out. But he was turned away - one of many disappointments in life.
Under the tight direction of Chamber Theater artistic director C. Michael Wright, the actors demonstrate how a long-running feud between husband and wife can poison the whole family. Neither side will yield in this battle, and their wounds are old and deep.
The intimate setting of the Studio Theatre is perfectly suited for this tense family drama. Furthermore, the realistic set transports us to 1946, right down to the stainless steel coffee pot and rows of ceramic knickknacks displayed on a shelf above the wall calendar.
The three performers work well together. As Timmy, Nicholas Harazin looks every inch the returning World War II veteran. He displays traces of boyishness, especially in a scene where he and his mother galumph around the living room as they dance to a polka playing on the radio. Smiling, laughing and reminiscing, the mother forgets her troubles for a few moments. Harazin is a good reminder that even adult children can fall into traditional roles when returning home. It happens in real life, too, as families will demonstrate as they gather for holiday dinners.
As Nettie, the mother, Tami Workentin creates a memorable portrait of a multi-faceted woman who fears that happiness will forever elude her. Unfortunately, Nettie is more familiar with the silence, stiffness and quick, abrupt remarks of an unhappy spouse. James Tasse, as John Cleary, exhibits a hair-trigger temper and loud pronouncements of how things will be under his roof. Physically and emotionally, Tasse rivets our attention. Like the main character in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, he takes stock of his life and finds that he comes up short. John is a better man than he knows or that he allows his family to see.
Although the casual banter between family members often has an underlying tension, the actors find moments of humor throughout the play. The Subject Was Roses is worthwhile viewing and a decidedly different option for those seeking something other than the usual holiday entertainments.
