It is the Bronx, 1946. Twenty-one-year-old Timmy returns home after serving three years in the army during World War II. His Irish-Catholic parents celebrate his homecoming with song, dance and booze. But Timmy soon finds himself caught in the crossfire between mother and father, who compete for his affections while trying to mask the tensions in their marriage. To keep the peace between the parents, Timmy buys roses for his mom and tells her they are from his dad. When the lie is revealed, old resentments rise to the surface. Finally, both mother and father must face the choice of clinging to their child or recognizing the man he has become. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1965, THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES was an instant success with both audiences and critics, running for 832 performances on Broadway.
