‘Preacher’s Kid’ enters second week on screen

By Guy D’Astolfo

“Preacher’s Kid,” the film written and directed by Youngstown native Stan Foster, will get at least one more week in the theater in the Mahoning Valley. It will stay at CinemaSouth in Boardman until at least next Thursday. Show times are 1:50, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:10 p.m. today; and 1:50 and 7:05 p.m. daily, beginning Friday.

The film, a Warner Premiere and Gener8xion Entertainment presentation, is a modern-day take on the Biblical prodigal-son story. A sheltered daughter defies her father and strikes out on her own, entering the gospel-play circuit. LeToya Luckett plays the lead role.

“Preacher’s Kid” made its theatrical debut last weekend in 109 theaters in 33 cities. The opening weekend gross was $190,000.

Oddly enough, Youngstown was one of the worst-performing markets, Foster told The Vindicator on Wednesday. The film has grossed the most in some of the cast members’ hometowns: Houston, Chicago and Covina, Calif., to name a few.

Foster has a penchant for sprinkling Youngstown references into his script, and “Preacher’s Kid” is no exception.

“There are so many [references],” said Foster. “We see a map that shows travel starting in Youngstown. We show Powers Auditorium as one of our theaters. There’s a character named Theodore Bell that is a reference to Mooney High football great Ted Bell, who was a star when I was a kid.”

In one scene, Luckett’s character and her friends sneak out to a nightclub called The Breakout. “It’s a reference to the old Breakout Lounge, which no longer exists,” said Foster. “I could go on and on.”

“Preacher’s Kid” stars Luckett, Tammy Townsend, Durrell “Tank” Babbs, Gregory Alan Williams and Essence Atkins.

The film has received generally positive reviews.

Michael Dequina, writing in themoviereport.com, had this to say:

“Stan Foster’s film confirms the unique, undeniable power this genre can achieve on both stage and film.”

Variety.com critic John Anderson wrote, “For all its billboard-sized gestures and a title that suggests uplifting family fun, ‘Preacher’s Kid’ is a surprisingly edgy morality play about a fallen woman whose descent into abuse and debasement is served up in a kind of Old Testament slo-mo.”