Martin Sheen will star in the Center Theatre Group’s upcoming production of “The Subject Was Roses” at the Mark Taper Forum, 46 years after receiving a Tony Award nomination during its Broadway run.

Sheen played son Timmy Cleary on both Broadway and in the 1968 movie version of “The Subject Was Roses,” but will play father John Cleary in this production, artistic director Michael Ritchie announced Tuesday.

“Martin and I had been talking for some time about doing ‘The Subject Was Roses,’ and when it appeared that the timing for the production was perfect for the opening slot in the new Taper season, I was pleased that we could move quickly,” Ritchie said.

Set in 1946 during World War II, this is a timeless, important play with characters “so rich and believable that your heart goes out to them, wishing they could break out of old family patterns. These are people we can all identify with,” Ritchie said. “It makes for compelling theater.”

Frances Conroy, best known for her role as the undertaker’s widow in the HBO series “Six Feet Under,” will play the mother, Nettie Cleary.

Brian Geraghty, whose credits include the critically acclaimed Iraq War film “The Hurt Locker,” has been cast as Timmy in the Pulitzer Prize-winning depiction of a father, mother and son whose complex and strained family dynamic becomes sadly clear after the son returns from a three-year stint in the Army.

“The Subject Was Roses” will replace the previously announced “Speed-
the-Plow” by David Mamet as the first production in the Taper’s 2010 season at the Music Center and will run from Feb. 10 through March 21. Its official opening will be on Feb. 21.

Tickets will go on sale Jan. 5 and can be purchased by calling (213) 628-2772, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, or at the Center Theatre Group box office at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center, located at 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown Los Angeles.