LIBBY

SKALA

Performer Writer

        The B.C. CATHOLIC       

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                                                       October 2, 2006                                                       

   Play a wonderful tribute to writer's grandmother

by Alan Charlton

In recent times we have been treated to a number of so-called "bio-pics," films which depict the lives of people who have in some way distinguished themselves by overcoming great difficulties.

The lives of these people whether sports figures or entertainers, are frequently laid out to inspire us, to show us that we too can accomplish great things, regardless of our circumstances.  The theatre is not without plays which portray such people, and currently running in Vancouver are two such plays, both of them portraying entertainers.

Far and away the better of the two is being presented at Pacific Theatre, where in a play entitled LILIA!a portrait of Lilia Skala is presented by her granddaughter Libby, who is also the author.

Many may not recall Lilia Skala, but those who can recall the classic film LILIES OF THE FIELD will undoubtedly remember her portrayal of the mother superior, a role for which she received an Oscar nomination.

Determined from a young age to become an actress, she reached stardom in her native Austria, performing leading roles for Max Reinhardt.  At the height of her career in 1938, married to a Jew, she was forced to flee Nazi oppression.

In America and unable to speak a word of English, she worked in a factory making zippers for two years, then managed to land a role on Broadway.  Thereafter she pursued a successful career on stage, screen, and television.

Libby Skala has written a wonderful tribute to her grandmother, showing her as a complex woman.  Starting off with a rather over-the-top theatrical introduction of the woman, she justifies this in her portrait of a woman who was ambitious, egotistical, and thoroughly aware of her own talent.

Libby Skala clearly had a close relationship with her grandmother, but affection has not been allowed to soften some of the less endearing aspects of Lilia.  However, in a fully three dimensional portrait, Libby also shows her as a woman who was capable of great tenderness and sly humour, a woman of courage and fortitude, and a woman of enormous faith in God.

Whether showing her praising her own achievements or reprimanding her granddaughter for offences as varied as sucking her thumb or refusing to hand over her favourite sweater to her demanding grandmother, Libby Skala in a remarkable one-woman show brings Lilia alive in an entertaining and impressive manner.

Truly this is one of the most riveting of such plays one is likely to see; indeed, the only similar play which equals it is last year's production of THE [SYRINGA] TREE at the Playhouse.

LILIA! is definitely a play that demands to be seen.  I frequently hear people complain about the moral degeneracy of so much entertainment.  Pacific Theatre is an attempt to present theatre of religious significance.  I can't think of a finer introduction to the company than this beautifully written and marvellously acted play.  Go and see LILIA!