Naman Shrestha
The Glenn Ciano directorial, Lifetime’s ‘Secrets at the Museum,’ is a mystery thriller movie that chronicles the life of an independent artist named Natalie who shares a dysfunctional relationship with her estranged father. Despite coming from a family that owns a prominent museum — Freeman Museum — she prefers to keep her identity a secret, by using her late mother’s maiden name, from everyone in her life, including her artist boyfriend named Alex.
However, after the tragic demise of her father, Natalie accepts the ownership of the museum with the help of her late father’s assistant, Derrick. As soon as she takes ownership and responsibility of the Freeman Museum, she notices that the authentic paintings in the museum are being replaced with counterfeits. She also realizes that the nature of her father’s death was quite strange and suspicious, which means that she is not the only one with secrets in her closet.
Determined to get to the bottom of the truth, Natalie embarks on a journey to find more details about her father’s death and the identity of the individual responsible for stealing the paintings. But in doing so, she comes face to face with perils that threaten the museum as well as her life. Since most of the suspenseful tale unfolds in and around the fictional Freeman Museum, the audience is highly likely to wonder where ‘Secrets at the Museum’ was filmed.
Secrets at the Museum Filming Locations
‘Secrets at the Museum’ was filmed in the Northeastern US state of Rhode Island, particularly in and around Newport. Principal photography for the thriller film commenced in January 2023 and wrapped up within the same month. So, without wasting any time, let’s traverse through all the specific locations that doubled for the Freeman Museum and the surrounding areas in the Lifetime production!
Newport, Rhode Island
The seaside city in Rhode Island’s Aquidneck Island, Newport, served as the primary production location for ‘Secrets at the Museum’ as the filming unit set up camp in various parts of the city for shooting purposes. Situated in Narragansett Bay, Newport is known to be home to the highest concentrations of colonial homes in the entire nation, with more than 80 18th and 19th-century buildings in and around the city.
Apart from colonial architecture, Newport also consists of many Gilded Age mansions, which were constructed mostly by wealthy American families between 1870 and 1915. Some of the many mansions are Marble House (William Kissam Vanderbilt), Chateau-sur-Mer, (William Shepard Wetmore), Rosecliff, The Breakers (Vanderbilt family), and Rough Point (Doris Duke), all of which are open to the public as museums. It is possible that the production team of ‘Secrets at the Museum’ utilized the premise of one of these museums to record the scenes set in the fictional Freeman Museum.
As for the exterior scenes, they were supposedly shot on location across the city against suitable backdrops. Thus, it is highly likely that you might spot a few local landmarks through different scenes, including the Newport Harbor, White Horse Tavern, Cliff Walk, Old Colony House, Newport Tower, and Gooseberry Beach.
Secrets at the Museum Cast
Chelsea Vale leads the cast of ‘Secrets at the Museum’ by essaying the character of Natalie Freeman. You may recognize her as Savvy from ‘Madden Girl’ and Lisa from ‘A Little Dream.’ Her other works include ‘Drowning in Secrets‘ and ‘Merry Ex-Mas.’ Joining Vale in the thriller movie is Forest Quaglia, who appears in the role of Natalie’s boyfriend, Alex. The actor is widely known for his performances in ‘Agent Stone,’ ‘Map Heist,’ and ‘The Investigators.’ Eric Lutes of ‘Caroline in the City’ and ‘All My Children’ fame steps into the role of Natalie’s estranged father, Robert Freeman.
Meanwhile, ‘Mr. Student Body President’ fame Jonathan Lipnicki stars as Robert Freeman’s assistant, Derrick, who helps Natalie inherit the Freeman Museum following Robert’s demise. The supporting cast of the Lifetime production comprises Tom DeNucci as Officer Baker, David Gere as Stephen Mason, Hope Blackstock as Tina, Chris Whitcomb as Luke, Scout Lyons as Harper, Tanja Melendez Lynch as Flora, Stephanie Prata as Maya, Ari Brisbon as Jeff, and Lia Lockhart as the police officer. Andrew G. Bennett joins the cast as the younger version of Derrick, while Madeleine Santos portrays the role of a younger Natalie.
Read More: Where Was Lifetime’s Secrets Beneath the Floorboards Filmed? Who is in the Cast?
