‘Getting Grace’ screening to be held
BOYERTOWN >> The historic State Theatre in Boyertown is hosting a special screening this weekend featuring some local legends.
In keeping with the mission and vision of the State Theatre to bring new and exciting features to the Boyertown area community, special screening of the feature film, “Getting Grace” will be held on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. Proceeds will be used to support other new programs of the State Theatre for youth, teens and adults.
In an effort to make the experience unique for locals and fans of the film, this event will also feature vintage automobiles used in the making of the movie.
“Getting Grace” is about Grace, a teenage girl dying of cancer. She crashes a funeral home to find out what will happen to her after she dies but ends up teaching the awkward funeral director, Bill Jankowski, how to celebrate life.
The movie stars and was produced, co-written and directed by Bethlehem, Pa., native, Daniel Roebuck.
Roebuck, star of “Matlock,” “Lost” and hundreds of other movies and TV shows, and other of the film’s cast will attend this fundraising screening. Audiences can meet the actors for a photo op and see the cars at 2:30 p.m. The film will begin at 3 p.m.
The theater is located at 61 N. Reading Ave., Boyertown, PA 19512. The phone number is 484-415-5517. The website is www.boyertownstatetheatre.com.
“Getting Grace” features several vintage cars in a sequence set in the 1980s. Among the cars that will be on display Sunday, Nov. 4, will be a 1984 Superior Sovereign Hearse owned by Berks County resident Nicole Mauer. Other cars in the film were furnished by Trisha Thompson of Hazelton, as well as many other vintage car aficionados.
The film features an amazing breakout performance by another Bethlehem born actress, Madelyn Dundon, as the title character.
It was during a press conference in May 2016 that Roebuck first floated the idea that he would try to cast the lead role out of the Lehigh Valley and auditioned many young ladies here.
Dundon, who was required to shave her head for the length of the filming, won the role. Regarding her casting, Roebuck commented recently, “I saw many wonderful actresses but only one Grace.” Ironically, both Roebuck and Dundon are graduates of Bethlehem Catholic High School.
During the film’s run at its second festival, The Adirondack Film Festival, it won the top prize of “Best of the Best.”
“Audiences seem to really connect to the film’s central themes of celebrating life to the fullest and then moving on with strength and dignity,” Roebuck recently commented from his California home.
He continued, “I like to remind potential viewers that the film isn’t about a teenager dying from cancer, it’s about her being fully alive despite her cancer. It’s her unique and positive point of view that ultimately helps those around her lead better and more fulfilling lives.”
Tammy Roebuck added, “It was Danny’s vision from early on that the film portray all of the end of life experiences as authentically as possible. He knew that if any of those scenes didn’t ‘ring true’, it would be hard for audiences to believe the message.”
“Getting Grace,” distributed by Hannover House, premiered nationally on March 23 in 60 theaters on its opening weekend, no small feat for a low budget independent movie. Eventually the audience response was so positive that the film played 10 weeks straight around the country reaching 80 theaters in total.
The film will be available on home video and On Demand on Nov. 6 and then on various digital platforms two months later.
“Getting Grace,” executive produced by the brother and sister team of Mike Molewski and Samantha Edwards, as well as Mick Trombley, Zach Tran, Melanie Molewski and Robert “R. J.” Morris was filmed entirely in the Lehigh Valley and features prominent and popular locations such as Monocacy Park, the Herron- Sell Funeral homes in Allentown and Bethlehem, The Moravian Book Shop, The Burnside Plantation, Pete’s Hot Dogs and St. Luke’s Hospital.