Corrie Ten Boom’s classic book “The Hiding Place” comes to life on the big screen this week through a filmed live stage show releasing from Rabbit Room Theatre, Matt Logan Productions and MA2LA in partnership with Trafalgar Releasing. The play, filmed before a live audience, tells the heroic true story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family, who risked everything to hide Jewish refugees by the hundreds during World War II before being discovered and ultimately facing the consequences.
Adapted for the stage by A. S. Peterson and directed for the stage by Matt Logan, “The Hiding Place” was filmed live for cinema audiences at the Soli Deo Center in Nashville, Tennessee during a four-week run to sold-out audiences in 2022. The film is directed by Laura Matula.
“Theater is something that we believe can change the world,” said Peterson. “Even though ‘The Hiding Place’ is set in the ‘40s, there are parallels to the challenges we still face. It’s people hating and not accepting one another and a family in the middle of that having to choose how to react. Ultimately, it makes viewers contemplate, ‘Are we going to love the people in front of us no matter who they are?’”
The film stars Nashville stage actress Nan Arnold Gurley (“A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Gypsy,” “Hello Dolly!”) as Corrie Ten Boom; Broadway, film and television veteran Conrad John Schuck (“M.A.S.H.,” “Annie,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It”) as Casper Ten Boom; and actress and singer Carrie Tillis (“Keep on the Sunny Side,” “The Tammy Wynette Story”) as Betsie Ten Boom.
“The Hiding Place” is based on the internationally bestselling memoir by Corrie Ten Boom, which has sold millions of copies worldwide and has regularly appeared on the ECPA’s Christian bestsellers list over the past 50 years. “The Hiding Place” is a story of faith, hope, love and forgiveness in the face of unthinkable evil. The setting is World War II. Darkness has fallen over Europe, and the boots of the Third Reich echo through the streets. But on a quiet city corner in the Netherlands some, like the Ten Booms, choose to resist. “The Hiding Place” is their story.
“’The Hiding Place’ is about a family and a community that needed one another to survive,” said Logan. “It’s so easy to think that it was the Jews who needed the Ten Booms, but the Ten Booms were equally blessed by the Jews that took refuge. It strikes me to think the Ten Booms brought the Jews’ battle upon themselves – even though it wasn’t their own – in an act of humanity. I ask myself, ‘Would I have done the same?’”
Audiences will be moved by the cinematic experience of this unique theatrical show, which is a beautiful homage to the Jewish heritage and highlights the strength of the Jewish and Christian faiths even during times of great despair and suffering.
“This story serves as a reminder that healing begins with forgiveness. Many of us grew up reading ‘The Hiding Place’ and there couldn’t be a better reminder to help others find light in the darkest of moments,” said Kymberli Frueh, SVP for Programming and Content Acquisitions for Trafalgar Releasing. “The Stage show is a brilliant adaptation of this worldwide bestseller with themes of courage, humanity and faith.”
The film is produced by Logan, Peterson and Erik Lokkesmoe, and executive produced by Will and Kay Cook.
“It’s thrilling at this moment in time to tell a timeless story of eternal value,” said Gurley. “I’ve been privileged to play many roles in my life. All of them taught me something, but this feels like an opus. If there was a last story I ever got to tell, this would be the one I’d want to tell.”
“The Hiding Place” will release in theaters on August 3, 5, and a one-day run in select international markets on Aug. 16. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
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