ABC NEWS SEGMENT: A RENAISSANCE IN EAST ARLINGTON, VERMONT

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Nov 4, 2019

15 Summer Theater Festivals, From Stratford to Williamstown

By Steven McElroy

May 17, 2018

Selections from the warm-weather season, including Shakespeare, new plays and musicals in development. We also picked our favorite festivals in dance, classical music and pop.

4 Freedoms Festival

MANCHESTER AND ARLINGTON, VT., JULY 7-22 The new musical “Perfect Picture,” inspired by the life of Norman Rockwell and the creation of his “Four Freedoms” paintings, is the centerpiece of this new festival presented by the Mill, a nonprofit arts complex. In 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a speech to Congress, described four essential human rights — freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear — and inspired Rockwell to create his series of oil paintings. The festival, which marks 75 years since Rockwell’s paintings were featured in the Saturday Evening Post, includes a lot of other programming, like a pop-up exhibition at the Bennington Museum. “Perfect Picture,” with a book and lyrics by Eileen Bluestone Sherman and music by Gail C. Bluestone, will star Lillias White and be directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner.

Read It On nytimes.com →

'Perfect Picture' puts Rockwell in the spotlight

July 13, 2018

By Greg Sukiennik

MANCHESTER — It's not every day that talented stage actors, dancers and singers, recognized as among the best at their craft, find their way to Manchester to premiere a Broadway musical.

That day is July 20, when the curtain rises on "Perfect Picture," a musical based on the life of Norman Rockwell and starring Tony and Emmy award winner Lillias White at Southern Vermont Arts Center's Arkell Pavilion. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on July 20, and 3 and

7:30 p.m. on July 21.

The show, which is co-produced by Joshua Sherman Productions and The Mill, Sherman's East Arlington-based creative space, is being directed by four-time Tony nominee Randy Skinner. It's the centerpiece of the 4 Freedoms Festival, a monthlong celebration of Rockwell, who made Arlington his home and inspiration for 13 years. The New York Times called the musical one of this summer's 15 must-see theater productions.

Sherman, who is also a physician at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, has been watching the development of his mother and aunt's musical about Rockwell for years, in stage and concert settings across the country, including New York's Lincoln Center. "I grew up in house full of music and heard the development process ," Sherman said. "It's what inspired me to have a good understanding of what artists need to move projects forward and collaborate effectively."

"Finally having the opportunity to have a Broadway cast and all-star director and choreographer stage this production is thrilling as we plan on moving it forward to New York," he said.

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4 FREEDOMS FESTIVAL℠ Announces Winners of the 2018 CREATE 4 FREEDOM℠ CONTEST

Vermont Poet Laureate Chard deNiord to medal the winners at ceremony.

This July, Vermonters take the lead to honor The Four Freedoms when THE MILL hosts the first annual 4 FREEDOMS FESTIVAL℠. Inspired by his Arlington neighbors, Norman Rockwell captured the essence of The Four Freedoms in simple everyday scenes. The FESTIVAL not only celebrates the 75th anniversary of the famous oil series’ original printing in The Saturday Evening Post, but also recognizes the current relevance of these 4 essential human rights in 2018.

The CREATE 4 FREEDOM℠ Contest challenged high school students grades 9-11, across the country, to share their artistic vision of the Four Freedoms in the 21st century. The contest required that students choose one of the Four Freedoms (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, or Freedom from Fear) and create a new work of art or poetry that expresses how and why that freedom is relevant in 2018.

Upon reviewing contest entries, Joshua Sherman, M.D. (President of THE MILL and Founder of the 4 FREEDOMS FESTIVAL℠) reflected, “No freedom ranks above the other, but it is both fascinating and disturbing that 77 years after F.D.R.’s State of the Union Address, the majority of our young poets and artists instinctively responded to Freedom from Fear.”

CONTEST WINNERS & PRIZES:

The Winner of the 2018 CREATE 4 FREEDOM℠ Art contest is 17 year old Larissa Weber from Anderson, Indiana.

The Winner of the 2018 CREATE 4 FREEDOM℠ Poetry Contest is 17 year old Jamar Beauford from Hudson, New York for his entry “SILKY”.

Winners will have their entries published in the Fall 2018 edition of Stratton Magazine and receive the “Stand Up Proud Award” at the TRIBUTE 4 FREEDOM℠ on July 21, 2018, where they will be medaled by Chard deNiord, Poet Laureate of Vermont. The winners’ work will be displayed at Southern Vermont Arts Center’s Arkell Pavilion in Manchester, Vermont, and each will be awarded a $500.00 cash prize. Contest finalists will also have their work on display during the 4 FREEDOMS FESTIVAL℠ weekend and receive a $50.00 cash prize. Contest Finalists with honorable mention include Kaylee Bushee, Audrianna Ennis, Tea Oakes, Ben O’Kesson, Logan Kitzby, Arianna Barrios, Grace Katrick, Erin Kopeski, Tess Belnap, and Hollie Hill.

Everything Old Is New Again

Lillias White to Star in Norman Rockwell Musical Perfect Picture

By Adam Hetrick

May 24, 2018

Perfect Picture, a new musical about the life of American painter and illustrator Normal Rockwell, will premiere July 20–21 in Manchester, Vermont. Featuring book and lyrics by Emmy Award winner Eileen Bluestone Sherman and music by Gail C. Bluestone.

Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street, Dames at Sea) will direct and choreograph the production that will star Tony Award winner Lillias White (The Life), Olivier nominee Scarlett Strallen (Mary Poppins), Sara Esty (An American in Paris), Danny Gardner (Dames at Sea), and Jeremy Benton (Cagney). Timothy Graphenreedwill music direct.

Perfect Picture centers on Rockwell’s series of four oil paintings that captured Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.

Perfect Picture, a new musical about the life of American painter and illustrator Normal Rockwell, will premiere July 20–21 in Manchester, Vermont. Featuring book and lyrics by Emmy Award winner Eileen Bluestone Sherman and music by Gail C. Bluestone.

Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street, Dames at Sea) will direct and choreograph the production that will star Tony Award winner Lillias White (The Life), Olivier nominee Scarlett Strallen (Mary Poppins), Sara Esty (An American in Paris), Danny Gardner (Dames at Sea), and Jeremy Benton (Cagney).

Perfect Picture centers on Rockwell’s 1943 Four Freedoms oil paintings that captured Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. The musical is presented as part of the inaugural 4 Freedoms Festival.

The musical is produced by Joshua Sherman Productions and The Mill, a not for profit production facility and center for artist collaboration in Arlington, Vermont.

For further information, visit TheMillVT.com/4FreedomsFestival.

Read it On playbill.com →

Lillias White to Headline New Norman Rockwell Musical

May 25, 2018

Tony winner Lillias White, upcoming star of the Broadway-aimed musical Half Time, has landed a pretty sweet follow-up summer gig. She will appear in Perfect Picture, a new musical inspired by the life of artist Norman Rockwell. With a book and lyrics by Emmy winner Eileen Bluestone Sherman (Deep Dark Secrets) and music by Gail C. Bluestone (The Odd Potato), Perfect Picture will play The Arkell Pavillion at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, VT from July 20-21. Joining White in the cast will be Scarlett Strallen (Travesties), Sara Esty (The Beast in the Jungle), Danny Gardner (Dames at Sea) and Jeremy Benton (Cagney). Four-time Tony nominee Randy Skinner (Dames at Sea) will direct and choreograph with musical direction by Timothy Graphenreed (The Wiz). Additional cast and production team members to be announced soon.

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PERFECT PICTURE A New Musical About Norman Rockwell, Is Born

Perfect Picture, a new musical inspired by the dramatic life of Norman Rockwell and his quest to paint the 4 Freedoms will play The Arkell Pavillion at the Southern Vermont Arts Center (930 SVAC Drive in Manchester, VT) July 20-21, 2018. Perfect Picture is directed and choreographed by four time Tony® Award Nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street, Dames at Sea, State Fair, WhiteChristmas), with book and lyrics by Emmy® Award winner Eileen Bluestone Sherman (The Odd Potato, Deep Dark Secrets), and music by Gail C. Bluestone (The Odd Potato). Starring Tony and Emmy Award Winner Lillias White (Cy Coleman's The Life, Dreamgirls, Sesame Street), the musicalis produced by Joshua Sherman Productions and The Mill, a not for profit production facility and center for artist collaboration in Arlington, Vermont.

Perfect Picture is the cornerstone of the 4 Freedoms FestivalSM, an inaugural arts festival, taking place in Manchester and Arlington, Vermont. The Official Schedule of Events for the 4 Freedoms Festival can be found on the Festival's website: www.TheMillVT.com/4freedomsfestival/

Inspired by his neighbors, Norman Rockwell captured the essence of Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear in simple everyday scenes.The musical celebrates the 75th anniversary of the famous oil series' original printing in TheSaturday Evening Post, and also recognizes the current relevance of these four essential human rights in 2018.

Keep Reading on broadwayworld.com →

4 Freedoms Fest to fete Rockwell

By Cherise Madigan

May 25, 2018

ARLINGTON — As a debate raged at an Arlington Town Meeting in 1941, acclaimed artist Norman Rockwell found inspiration.

Arlington Memorial High School had burned down, and the question of whether to rebuild it was the topic under discussion. A neighbor of Rockwell, said to be a likable farmer, was articulating an opinion that most in the room disagreed with.

Despite their disagreement, however, no one interrupted the speaker. From Rockwell's perspective, the basic American right to freedom of speech — one of four human rights central to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech given just days earlier — had come to life before his eyes.

The series of paintings inspired by the meeting, published by The Saturday Evening Post as the "Four Freedoms" in 1943, went on to become iconic American images of the World War II era. Portraying freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom of worship alongside freedom of speech, Rockwell's "Four Freedoms" also played an important role in funding the Allied effort.

Now, the town of Arlington is preparing to celebrate those freedoms once again.

Keep Reading on manchesterjournal.com →