Four years after filming wrapped in the Lehigh Valley, the Daniel Roebuck film \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d premiered to sold-out crowds recently at the Frank Banko Theater, Bethlehem Catholic High School Auditorium and The Roxy Theater in Northampton. The cast, crew, supporters and fans reunited at each of the venues to view the film Roebuck said \u201ctook so long because I wanted to get it right.\u201d And \u201cright\u201d he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d is a love letter of gratitude to the religious sisters who influenced Roebuck since he was a child. Hundreds of supporters arrived for the red carpet events on the one day of the week that brought blue skies and warmer temperatures.<\/p>\n
Volunteers set up the tables of merchandise including T-shirts, football bags, magnets and programs. The cast stood for over an hour before each film for fans to get their pictures with them. The cast also mingled throughout the lobby signing programs for fans and taking selfies.<\/p>\n
Roebuck greeted the sold-out crowds at the Frank Banko Theater for the 11 a.m. showing and had a brief question and answer session with the audience before the cast and crew made their way to the 3 p.m. showing at Becahi.<\/p>\n
Band members from Becahi provided entertainment for the sold out auditorium crowd at the 3 p.m. showing of the film. Fans came from as far south as North Carolina to see the world premiere of this film.<\/p>\n
While most of the attendees were from Allentown and Bethlehem, others like Pat Dillensnyder of Roseto said she had seen \u201cSt. Nick of Bethlehem\u201d on Amazon Prime and wanted to see \u201cThe Hail Mary.\u201d Groups of friends organized to come to each of the venues as well. Choir members from St. Ann Church in Emmaus wanted to see the film and support parishioner Joey Draper, of Lower Macungie Township, who portrayed one of the school boys and Saints football players.<\/p>\n
At the Becahi venue, eighth grade and youth group students from Holy Family Church were excited to be a part of this world premiere event. Bettie Kichline and Gerald Brunell showed up at Becahi to support their dear friend Roebuck. \u201cGetting Grace\u201d was dedicated to Bettie\u2019s brother Gerald Scott Brunell.<\/p>\n
Also, at the Becahi venue, Taylor Bennett who participates in Special Olympics programs with Seth McMullen (one of the school boys and Saints football players) was overjoyed to be at the event.<\/p>\n
The program began with a blessing and a Hail Mary prayer at Roebuck\u2019s alma mater. Allentown Diocese\u2019s Bishop Alfred A. Schlert was in attendance and described the film as \u201cthe fruit and courage of this man and many others.\u201d In the 65th year of the Allentown Diocese, Schlert acknowledged Roebuck was \u201craised and formed in the Diocese of Allentown. This is a great sign of how God blesses us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Roebuck concluded with thanking the donors, sponsors and board members. \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d is a glorious gift to me,\u201d Roebuck said, who acknowledged his father who was present in the audience. He also shared \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d movie \u201cno longer belongs to me. It belongs to all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the movie and discussion at Becahi, the cast and crew boarded a Trans-Bridge Lines bus that took them to the final premiere at the historic Roxy Theater in Northampton.<\/p>\n
As several hundred people made their way into the theater, the marquee displayed \u201cWorld Premiere The Hail Mary\u201d with bright lights that provided a glamorous feel to the occasion. After Roebuck greeted the guests at the final venue, Mayor of Northampton Anthony \u201cTony\u201d Pristash surprised an emotional Roebuck with a Key to the City of Northampton. \u201cThis is our highest honor in Northampton. It is so rare, I don\u2019t know if anybody ever received one,\u201d he said. The award recognized the commitment to community and Roebuck\u2019s influence in highlighting the use of the Borough of Northampton in his films.<\/p>\n
At all three venues, audiences laughed loudly at comedic moments throughout the film. There was loud applause when the footage of the Bethlehem Area School District stadium was depicted as well as the recognizable places in Northampton such as the Mary Immaculate Center, the Alliance Fire Company and the Northampton Diner. There were also tender emotional moments such as the school boys singing \u201cMake Me A Channel of Your Peace\u201d (The Prayer of St. Francis), the conversation between Sister Kathleen and Jake Bauer and the final play of the game which offered an ending that most people did not envision.<\/p>\n
There was also a humorous hint that perhaps a sequel could be in the future. At the conclusion of the film, Roebuck and the cast received standing ovations at all three venues. \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d is a production of excellence offering lessons in forgiveness, hope, and courage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d earned a Bronze Crown Award for Best Theatrical Release at the 53rd annual Crown Awards held in Nashville, Tenn. Feb. 18. Crown Awards recognize excellence in Christian film and media. Producers Daniel, Tammy and Grace Roebuck and Davie Cabral\u2019s work with \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d was highlighted as a notable finalist in these 2026 awards. Alex Kovacs created the score for the film and the soundtrack includes local musicians Alyssa Garcia (who was present for the viewing at Becahi), Stefanie Johnson, Billy Bauer, Damian Righi and Bosco Oliver and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d was funded by donations made to the Channel of Peace Productions, which is a nonprofit organization focusing on the advancement of family, faith and values such as love, forgiveness, good works and gratitude. In addition, the organization helps educate aspiring young filmmakers by creating opportunities for high school and college students to work on Hollywood sets.<\/p>\n
The movie is expected to be available on Amazon Prime in the near future as well as available on DVD within the next few months.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTOS BY LISA DRAPERCast member of \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d Joey Draper, of Lower Macungie Township, is joined by his grandparents Andrew and Connie Draper, of Bethlehem Township, left and parents, Drew and Lisa Draper at the Frank Banko Theater in Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
Cast members of \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d arrive at the second venue at Becahi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four years after filming wrapped in the Lehigh Valley, the Daniel Roebuck film \u201cThe Hail Mary\u201d premiered to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-150114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}