Play recalls Lilia Skala

Libby Skala will present a one-woman show, Lilia!, Sunday, March 21, in the old Gilbert and Bennett School Building in Georgetown, as a benefit for Haitian relief and as a tribute to the remarkable life of her grandmother, Lilia Skala. The performance begins at 4 at the school at 49 New Street, off Route 7. Tickets are $15.

Libby Skala will appear as both herself and her grandmother, an actress who gave an Oscar-nominated performance as the strong-willed Mother Maria opposite Sidney Poitier in the 1963 movie classic “Lilies of the Field.” The 85-minute show explores the life of Lilia Skala, who was Austria’s first female architect and a European stage star until World War II. She fled to America penniless and worked her way from a zipper factory to Broadway, TV, and film. It is also about the relationship of two spirits so alike they suffer the ironic antagonism that comes with deep love.