Stuck in Vermont: Remembering Josh Bridgman

Josh Bridgman was a writer, poet, actor, playwright and beloved Burlington icon. Josh died at age 51 of a heart attack in December of 2018. Friends gathered at Radio Bean on December 27th for an unofficial memorial, sharing stories about his memorable laugh, his signature trench coat and his creative escapades.

Josh collaborated with musicians, artists and had two plays produced by Green Candle Theatre Company. Eva interviewed Josh in 2010 during the run of his play, “Concrete Kingdom.” This video mixes stories about Josh from his Radio Bean tribute (watch the full video here) with unused footage from 2010.

“Every city has characters that distinguish it from any other place,” wrote Seven Days’ Cathy Resmer about Josh in 2006. “They’re not always wealthy or influential; they’re just people everybody knows, if not by name, then by sight. Even if you don’t like them, you take a certain pride in recognizing these people, because that knowledge identifies you as a local.” Josh will be dearly missed in the Burlington arts community. GCTC plans to produce his third play, the final piece of a trilogy.

A memorial service will be held on March 23, 2019, at the Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, located at 294 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington, at 3 p.m.

Shooting dates: 11/12/10 & 12/27/18

This episode of Stuck in Vermont was made possible by

New England Federal Credit Union

Music: Swale, There’s No One Here, “Wooden Heart”

This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2019.

2 replies on “Stuck in Vermont: Remembering Josh Bridgman”

Arthur Bell says:

January 17, 2019 at 11:53 am

So well done Eva, thank you.
Garreth Rogers says:

January 22, 2019 at 11:38 am

Haven’t seen Josh in a long time, but remember him well from my days working behind the counter at Pure Pop Records in the early 90’s. Josh knew a lot about a lot of things and was an incredible conversationalist. He introduced me to some great music.

Burlington loses another arts icon.