Academy Award winner returned to local stage

NETCONG-Academy Award winner Celeste Holm, made a return appearance at the Historic Palace Theatre, home to the Growing Stage Theatre. Holm first appeared at The Palace Theatre Palace as a member of the Hopatcong Broadway Players in the mid 30s. During her visit on Thursday, Sept. 30, she unveiled the theatre's newest mural titled "Hail Mortal Hail!," the first of 11 that will surround the upper-level seating area. Holm made her Broadway debut as Mary L. in William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize winning play, "The Time of Your Life," in 1939. She became a star with her performance of Ado Annie in the original production of "Oklahoma!," followed by the title role in "Bloomer Girl." She also starred in "The King and I", "Affairs of State", "Invitation to a March", "I Hate Hamlet" and most recently, "Don Juan in Hell" for the New York City's Irish Repertory Theatre. Holm won Academy Award nominations for her work in "Come to the Stable" and "All About Eve." She received an Oscar for her performance in the film, "Gentleman's Agreement," which also won the accolade for Best Picture. "The Tender Trap" and "High Society" are regarded as her classics and she will also be remembered for a recent film, "Three Men and a Baby" and numerous television shows appearances. All of the Growing Stage Theatre's murals, including a 40-foot murals that frame the main seating area, are the creation of Perry Arthur Kroeger. Kroeger's latest work depicts a scene from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the theatre's opening production of its 2004-2005 season. The Growing Stage Theatre, located on Route 183, in Netcong, is the only professional member theatre of the Actor's Equity Association in New Jersey that is solely dedicated to young people, offering main stage productions, school outreach presentations and educational programs.