Helen Hayes often was referred to as the “First Lady of the American Theater,” but if there was such a thing as the “First Lady of Chattanooga Theater,” it was Ann Zane.
Zane died earlier this month in South Carolina, and a local memorial service will be held in January.
It’s difficult to think of December and Christmas without her. For 14 straight years through 2006, Zane had a role in the holiday production at Oak Street Playhouse at First-Centenary United Methodist Church. I shared the stage with her for a number of those shows.
Before that, Zane did what must have been scores of roles at the former Backstage Theater in Brainerd. She also tread the boards at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and probably wherever else there was a stage in the 1970s and 1980s.
To name just a few of Zane’s roles, she was Ethel Thayer in “On Golden Pond” at Backstage, Dolly Levi in “The Matchmaker” (the nonmusical forerunner of “Hello Dolly”) at Oak Street Playhouse and Daisy Werthan in “Driving Miss Daisy” at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre.