Three New Directors Elected to the Crandell Theatre Board

The Crandell Theatre Board of Directors approved three new members to the Crandell board at its January annual meeting: John T. Lillis, a retired tax attorney; Mirissa Neff, a documentary filmmaker; and Carol Sadlon, the former owner of Cinerom cinemas and Millerton’s The Moviehouse.

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 retired as partner of White & Case LLP, a New York City 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, he spent his final years at the firm as Chair of its Global Tax Committee. This internal committee is responsible for the firm’s business-related tax issues, including tax filings, tax controversies, and tax planning. He lives in Old Chatham.

Mirissa Neff is a Chatham-based documentary filmmaker, public broadcast producer and 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 us surmount our deepest divides. She has 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. Renovated and rebranded The Moviehouse, the theater reopened in 1978 and became a significant arts and cultural destination, the center of the village’s rebirth and revitalization. In 2010, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1996 the Sadlons expanded the exhibition business by building Cinerom, a nine-screen, 32,000-square-foot digital sound cinema in Winsted, CT, and acquiring and renovating a six-screen Sony theater in Torrington, CT. Sadlon served as Vice President and Program Director, elevating the theaters as the cultural anchors of their communities. During the Cinerom years, Carol also served as VP of CATO (Connecticut Association of Theater Owners), a regional division of the National Association of Theater Owners, representing Connecticut theaters in Washington, D.C. The 15 screens were sold in 2010 and 2013. The Moviehouse, sold in 2021, now operates as a nonprofit cinema. She lives in Lakeville, CT.