Manchester Life 2018 | Page 40

BY JOSHUA SHERMAN, MD
ILLUSTRATIONS © THE AL HIRSCHFELD FOUNDATION. ALHIRSCHFELDFOUNDATION.ORG
starlight in Vermont
“M
oonlight in Vermont” may be
our state’s unofficial song, but
it is the “Starlight in Vermont”
that will be extra captivating this summer. Emmy Award–winning vocal sensation, Lillias
White, is already set to star as Amy the Wild
Woman. Presented at Southern Vermont Arts
Center Jul. 20–21.
New England theatre buffs regularly travel
to New York to catch a Broadway show, but
watching great talent perform live on-stage
in an intimate setting on a glorious summer
night, right here in Southern Vermont,
is incomparable. Two-time Oscar nominee and Tony Award
winner David Zippel (City of Angels, Disney’s
Rumor has it that there are still some not-
yet-announced surprises in store, but looking
through the telescope, here is an illustrated
preview of the 2018 summer season.
Can you “hear the beat of dancing feet”? Four-
time Tony Award
nominee Randy
Skinner will direct
and choreograph
the new musical
Perfect Picture,
inspired by the
life of Norman
Rockwell. With
music and lyrics by
the Emmy Award– 42nd Street, 2001—staged and
choreographed by four-time Tony
winning Bluestone Award nominee Randy Skinner
Sisters, the musical
focuses on Norman Rockwell’s life, loves, and
his quest to paint the Four Freedoms. Full
casting is yet to be announced, but Tony and
38 manchester life | manchesterlifemagazine.com
David Zippel and Cy Coleman’s Tony Award winning City of
Angels, 1989
Hercules and Mulan) may be best known as
a lyricist, collaborating with everyone from
Alan Menken and Andrew Lloyd Weber to Cy
Coleman and Marvin Hamlisch, but for more
than 20 years, he has had a distinguished career
as a director. This summer, David directs a
concert-format reading of his update of Oscar
Wilde’s classic comedy The Importance of Being
Earnest. This time, set in New York in 2018 at
Trump Tower and in East Hampton. Presented
at Southern Vermont Arts Center Aug. 17–19.