The Crandell Theatre Board of Directors has approved three new members to the Crandell board at its January annual meeting.
Joining the historic venue board are retired tax attorney John T. Lillis, Mirissa Neff, a documentary filmmaker, and Carol Sadlon, the former owner of Cinerom cinemas and Millerton’s The Moviehouse.
The Crandell Theatre in Chatham, NY, is one of the few community-based and nonprofit theaters in the US that is devoted to film and one of fewer than one hundred single-screen movie theaters nationally. The theater is dedicated to enriching the cultural vitality of the region through film programming that challenges, inspires, educates and entertains.
The nearly 100-year-old cinema is supported by ticket sales and earned revenue, contributions of members and friends, also private and public grants, including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
According to Crandell Board President Lydia Kukoff, “This is such an exciting moment for the Crandell. As we get closer to the full renovation of our beloved theater, we are delighted to welcome John, Mirissa, and Carol to our extraordinary board. They bring with them a wealth of talent and expertise that will further enrich our thinking and planning for the future.”
John T. Lillis, based in Old Chatham, retired as partner in a law firm in 2019. During his 39-year tenure at the firm, he focused on the tax planning and documentation in mergers and acquisitions transactions, as well as the tax aspects of investment funds formation (primarily private equity and real estate opportunity funds). His investor representation largely focused on representing non-US sovereign investors investing in the United States. Serving for many years as the firm’s Head of the Global Tax Practice. The retiree spent his final years at the firm as Chair of its Global Tax Committee.
Mirissa Neff is a Chatham-based documentary filmmaker, public broadcast producer and also a reporter. Her debut feature film, This Is National Wake, premiered in competition at Sheffield DocFest and has garnered awards around the world. Her ethos as a filmmaker and journalist is to explore how culture and music illuminate our lives, and can help others surmount their deepest divides. The filmmaker also worked as a producer and correspondent on PBS’s SOUND TRACKS: Music Without Borders, PBS’s Quick Hits, public television’s Music Voyager, and has contributed music-oriented audio essays to public radio programs, including BBC/PRI’s The World and WNYC’s Studio 360. In early 2023, Neff founded Crandell Kid Flicks, the theater’s popular activity and film series for young children and families.
Carol Sadlon, a former fashion designer, is a creative entrepreneur with a passion for art, architecture, preservation, history and cinema. Inspired by a mutual interest in architectural preservation and film, she and her late husband purchased the shuttered and dilapidated 1903 former Grange Hall building on Main Street in Millerton, NY. The Moviehouse, sold in 2021, now operates as a nonprofit cinema.
Since 2010, the Crandell Theatre has raised more than $1 million to purchase the historic theater and make needed repairs. The current Crandell board is also engaged in a multimillion-dollar campaign to renovate and restore the area’s oldest, largest, single-screen theater and enhance the moviegoing experience for generations to come. For more information, fans can visit crandelltheatre.org, or call 518-392-3445.
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