THE RETURN OF MOLLY: As we’ve mentioned around here before, Texas columnist Molly Ivins has come back to life via the one-woman play Red Hot Patriot: The Kick Ass Wit of Molly Ivins. The play opened in Philadelphia with Kathleen Turner in the role, and now it’s moved to Austin starring Barbara Chisholm. Our friends over at NPR check in on the Austin production, providing some soundbites from the show. Judging by the clips in the story, it looks as if the play certainly captures Ivins’ saltiness.

MOVIN’ ON UP: File North Texas actress Arianne Martin in the “one to watch” category. You might remember her from The Other Side of Paradise, which was directed by her husband, Justin Hilliard, and played the Dallas International Film Festival in 2009. Your next opportunity to see her comes next Friday, with her role in the Nicholas Cage horror movie Drive Angry 3D. And she says that even though she had a very religious upbringing, she’s finding herself playing some gritty, grown-up roles. “Pretty much the only thing we watched on TV was Billy Graham,” she tells fwweekly.com. “So now it’s my mother’s fault that I make R-rated movies.” (P.S. – she says she still has a great relationship with her mom.)

BALLET FOR BEGINNERS: On Friday and Sunday, the Texas Ballet Theater will perform a full-length program called Mixed Repertoire. But on Saturday, TBT will shorten the program to 25 minutes for a performance designed for dance newbies. Front Row’s Danna Reubin attended a recent rehearsal for a preview.