THE WESTSIDER AND CHELSEA CLINTON NEWS

AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

Tribute to Lilia Skala

Spotlighting courageous refugee actress

BY D.L. LEPIDUS

"Lilia!"...was written and performed by Libby Skala as a tribute

to her grandmother, the late actress Lilia Skala.  A little more than

an hour long, this proved to be a charming and surprisingly moving

piece.

Libby Skala portrays both her grandmother and herself at

various ages.  We are immersed in the story of this indomitable,

charming, gifted, yet at times imperious grande dame of the theater.

Through tenacity and sheer talent, Lilia Skala managed to

become the first female architect in [Austria].  She went on to

become a great stage star there, before fleeing the Nazis with her

children and making her way to America.

Here she survived doing menial work before finally managing

to land acting roles on Broadway.  Between acting jobs, she sup-

ported herself by doing a series of subsistence jobs.  At the time

she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in

the film "Lilies of the Field," for instance, she was working in the

Lost and Found office at City Center.

Throughout the ups and downs of her career, though, Lilia

Skala never lost her faith in her own talent, and in God's plan for      Libby Skala in "Lilia!"

her life.

As for her granddaughter, she does a marvelous job of evoking the grandmother and making her story more than just a memoir.  For anyone in the theater, her show is a paean to the seriousness and importance of the art.  For "civilians," it's a reminder that patience, fortitude and tenacity will usually, in the long run, win out against misfortune. 

I highly recommend "Lilia!"

LIBBY

SKALA

Performer Writer