CHIHULY BY THE NUMBERS: We knew from the get-go that the Chihuly show at the Dallas Arboretum was going to pack ’em in. And when it was extended by a few weeks at the end of the year, we really knew that guests were showing up in droves. Now, we know just how big of a success it was. According to the Arboretum, “In 2012, year-to-date attendance at the botanic garden grew by 42% with nearly 940,000 guests visiting the garden. Approximately 706,000 of those were during Chihuly (May 5 – December 31). Guests came from 71 countries around the world to visit the exhibition including China, New Zealand, Peru and Zimbabwe.” Since May, the Arboretum also saw its membership jump to 35,000, and increase of 9,000 members.

BLACK & WHITE DONE RIGHT: Pegasus Theatre is back with another of its trademark black-and-white productions. The current show is called XSR:Die! (Cross Stage Right – Die!) and features our favorite detective, Harry Hunsacker, on the case of a back-stage murder at a Broadway show. And it sounds as if it’s worth a look. “It’s one of the strongest Living Black and White shows in years,” Mark Lowry writes on theaterjones.com. “If the motivation is to entertain—and isn’t it always?—then this cast and crew have found theirs.” Lindsey Wilson was duly impressed. “Keep a sharp eye on the intricate stage business, choreographed like a ballet by director Michael Serrecchia,” she writes on Front Row. “[Kurt] Kleinmann’s script spreads out the suspicions well (I guessed incorrectly), making it devilishly difficult to nail down a suspect.” Catch it through Jan. 20.

PIXAR PICKS JAFFE: Pixar is famous for, among many things, running shorts ahead of its feature films. It’s next feature, Monsters University, is slated for June, and it will be paired with The Blue Umbrella – a short film about two umbrellas that fall in love. Saschka Unseld directed the short, and he says he got a lot of his inspiration from listening to Sarah Jaffe, whose voice will be in the film.  “She’s been there for me since the inception,” Unseld tells The Wall Street Journal. Below is a teaser: