LIBBY

SKALA

Performer Writer

WQXR RADIO

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2003

                                       

TODAY'S SUMMER ARTS REVIEW WITH BRUCE WEBER OF THE NEW YORK TIMES    

"This is the time of year when serious theatre explorers are rewarded.  That is, it's low-budget festival season in New York when the under-financed and impossible-to-discourage show people of the world suddenly become easy to find.  They bring their wares to us, to wit.  In the thimble-sized Black Box at the Abingdon Theatre on West 36th Street, home of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, I took in a couple of very worthy one-person shows over the weekend. 

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"Lilia!" is about the actress Lilia Skala, the Austrian immigrant who won an Academy Award for her role in "Lilies of the Field".  The show was written and is performed by her granddaughter Libby Skala, a fine and composed actress who presents the show largely as a series of dialogues between herself and her loving but imperious grandmother.  It's a granddaughter's education, deliciously poignant.

"It's always astounding to be reminded of how much worthy theatre is out there, invisible most of the time beneath the glare of Broadway.  And the New York International Fringe Festival with more than 200 shows sprinkled over the lower East Side hasn't even begun yet.  This is Bruce Weber of the New York Times."