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Stagefright

The fabulous Jessica Chastain (pictured above) has just been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress (drama) for her performance in the film Zero Dark Thirty, which is about the hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Chastain was nominated for an Oscar last year for her performance in The Help. The Juilliard School graduate is currently making her Broadway debut in the revival of The Heiress, which is running its limited engagement through February 10th. Directed by playwright Moises Kaufman (33 Variations, The Laramie Project), Chastain plays the classic role of Catherine Sloper, played in a previous revival in 1995 by Cherry Jones (Tony Award). A 1976 revival starring Jane Alexander ran only for two weeks.

Red Thread Theatre will remount its production of Bryony Lavery’s psychological thriller Frozen, January 3-26, at the Marie Maday Theatre located on the Canisius College campus. Eileen Dugan, Lisa Ludwig, and Eric Rawski will reprise their performances. In May the company will present Lanford Wilson’s 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Talley’s Folley, directed by Dugan. And for Curtain Up 2013, another Pulitzer Prize winner (1965), Frank Gilroy’s The Subject Was Roses.

Speaking of Pulitzer Prize winners, Musicalfare continues its season with Jonathan Larson’s Rent (1996) in an intimate production directed by Randall Kramer with music direction by Theresa Quinn. Opening January 23, the cast features Charmagne Chi, Steve Copps, Joe Donohue, Maria Droz, Paschal Frisina III, Matthew Iwanski, Amy Jakiel, Dudney Joseph, Jr., John Kaczorowski, Kay Kerimian, Renee Landrigan, Ben Puglisi, Marc Sacco, and Jonathan Young.

Before its Buffalo stop in June, The Book of Mormon will play Rochester March 5t-10 at the Rochester Auditorium Theatre. Tickets for the Rochester run are already on sale.

Mentor/educator Jim Deiotte is retiring from St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, and on December 26 at 7pm, alumni and friends of the school’s choral music program will hold a celebration of his artistic ministry at the school (845 Kenmore Avenue). For tickets and information, go to www.eventbrite.com. Congratulations, Jim!

Road Less Traveled Productions continues its play reading RAICES series on January 27 at 6pm with Carlos Ferrari’s El Insolito Casa De Miss Piña Colada (The Preposterous Case of Miss Piña Colada). Directed by Victoria Pérez, the reading will star Mariana Cole-Rivera, Sarielys Matos, Ingrid Cordova, Rolando Gómez, Smirna Mercedes- Pérez, and Rafael Pérez. The play will be read entirely in authentic Puerto Rican Spanish (no surtitles). Admission is a suggested donation of cinco (five) dollars (pesos).

2012 was the 100th anniversary of the novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Not too much was done to commemorate the milestone except an announcement that another movie is in the works, probably starring Alexander Skarsgard, of True Blood fame. Ron Ely (pictured right), now 74, played the part in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan. He had a bit part in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

The great Celeste Holm (pictured below) was one of the stage/movie actors we lost this past year. Holm died of a heart attack in July at age 95. She made her Broadway debut in 1938 but jumped into fame in 1943 for playing Ado Annie in the premiere production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! The last living cast member from All About Eve, Holm received an Oscar in 1947 for Gentleman’s Agreement. Her last Broadway appearance was in 1991 in Paul Rudnick’s I Hate Hamlet. She appeared at Studio Arena on several occasions.