The Belfry Theatre will present “The Lilies of the Field” at the auditorium of Ivy Tech Hamilton County March 18-20 and March 25-27, with Friday and Saturday evening shows at 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Based on the novel by William E. Barrett, with a script by F. Andrew Leslie, the 1963 movie starred Sidney Poitier in the role of Homer Smith, for which Poitier became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
DéJon LéTray Marshall-Fisher, Indianapolis, plays Smith in the Belfry production, directed by Linnéa Leatherman, Westfield. Kim O’Mara, Lawrence, plays Mother Maria Marthe, with her four nuns played by Jan Borcherding, Noblesville, Diane Reed, Noblesville, Jan Jamison, Westfield, and Judy McGroarty, Indianapolis. The men in the cast are Gene Burnett as Orville Livingston, Fishers; Gideon Roark as Father Gomez, Yorktown; and Patrick Crowley as José Gonzalez, Indianapolis. Jan Borcherding is also the Folksinger for the show.
The story begins in 1954 as Smith, recently discharged from the U.S. Army, is traveling through the American southwest, where he meets a group of poor nuns from East Germany and Hungary trying to eke out a living and build a school. Mother Maria Marthe is convinced that God has sent Homer to build her a chapel. Homer is not convinced. He does not share her faith. Plenty of drama and comedy ensues between Homer, “Old Mother” and her four nuns, and men from the area who offer lots of advice, opinions, and commentary.
Tickets for “The Lilies of the Field” are $17 for adults, $14 for ages 12 and younger and for those 65 and older. Group rates are available for parties of 10 or more. For more, visit thebelfrytheatre.com.
