THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES
The people who collaborated on the Marbleworks production of The Subject Was Roses make music together, and I’m not referring just to the actors–the designers and the director also make crucial contributions. Together they bring genuine depth and dimension to this simple story about an ex-soldier at the end of World War II who’s trying to extricate himself from his family. This production at Niles College, way out at Harlem and Touhy, was one of the most satisfying I’ve seen in years–and I don’t even like the play very much.
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Helen Engelbrecht as the mother does something similar. The icy rigidity that seizes her body when her husband is around fills the stage with tension, even when she is perfectly silent. Though when he returns with roses for her, she begins to melt a little.
