Published On: Thu, Sep 4th, 2014

Evening Star Productions presents The Subject Was Roses

subject was rosesEvening Star Productions will follow up their sold out August production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors with Frank Gilroy’s multi-award winning play The Subject Was Roses.  The play will open on September 12th, and run throughSeptember 28th at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.

A timeless American classic, Gilroy’s play explores one family’s struggle to reconcile the disappointments of the past with hopes for the future in post-war America.  Set in the Bronx in 1946, The Subject Was Roses focuses on three days in the lives of the Cleary family: Timmy, who has just returned from World War II, and his parents, Nettie and John.

“The travails of a seemingly, happy family,  when the  son returns from war, and the effect it has on the parents who love him, combined with how his re-appearance affects their relationship,  was too good to resist when the opportunity arose to direct this play,” director Jeffrey Bruce says.

“When I was a teenager, I saw The Subject Was Roses at a Saturday matinee just after it had won both the Pulitzer Prize for drama as well as the Tony for Best Play,” he continues.  “Jack Albertson, Irene Dailey and Martin Sheen comprised the cast, and I remember being devastated at the curtain call.  I have never been a particular fan of “happy” theatre and enjoy the experience most while feeling deepest emotion, which, to put it mildly, was the state I remained in hours after leaving The Royale Theatre.”

Bruce has cast father and son actors Alan and Evan Gerstel as John and Timmy Cleary. Elli Murray will play Nettie Cleary.

Created by Sol Children Theatre’s artistic director Rosalie Grant as an off-shoot of her extremely successful Sol Children Theatre Company, Evening Star Productions’ mission is to offer serious young adult actors, stage managers, and designers the opportunity to push the boundaries of their knowledge and talent in a safe and highly professional environment, and to allow them the opportunity to work with professionals in their chosen fields.

Evening Star Productions’ The Subject Was Roses will run from September 12th through September 28th at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton.  Tickets are $15 or $10 for students. Group rates are also available. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Sol Theatre box office at 561-447-8829 or on line at www.eveningstarproductions.org.  Sol Theatre is located at 3333 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton (33431).

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