Is that Hillary?

Students in Thomas Connolly's freshman seminar discovered yesterday that things aren't always as they seem. For a class called "The Mask Behind the Face," the Suffolk professor presented a reasonable facsimile of Senator Hillary Clinton. Playing the presidential wannabe was Gloucester actress Heidi Dallin, who's been impersonating Bill Clinton's better half for 15 years. "There's definitely a lot of interest in Hillary now that the campaign's going on," said Dallin, who is discriminating about the invitations she accepts. She'll do schools and trade shows - she conned a convention of contractors and roofers not long ago - but Dallin doesn't take every gig that comes her way. "There was a corporate party in Miami where they wanted me to spend four hours trapped on a boat," she said. "You couldn't pay me enough to do that."

Working overtime in the Celts' house

Former New Edition singer Michael Bivens pulled a tough assignment for his gig with "TNT OverTime" which airs on NBA.com: interviewing members of the Boston Celtics dance team. The former Bell Biv DeVoe member was center court at the TD Banknorth Garden yesterday during the troupe's pre-game rehearsal for his online show. While in the Celts' house, Bivens caught up with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Among those expected at last night's game were actors Donnie Wahlberg and Ethan Hawke and Patriots players Jarvis Green and Kelly Washington. Speaking of New Edition, the unpredictable Bobby Brown is expected to hit town today for a Berklee College of Music concert where students will play Brown's songs. (There's word that Brown will join the Berklee City Music All-Stars on "Roni.") Tomorrow night Brown will be inducted at the Boston Music Awards Hall of Fame.

Hard rockin' birthday party

Barry Goudreau (above) celebrated his 56th birthday in style last night, surrounded by friends, family, and a few current and former bandmates. On the guest list for the Boston guitarist's bash at the Hard Rock Cafe were Sib Hashian and Fran Sheehan, the members of Extreme, Charlie Farren, DJ Carter Alan, and Ernie Boch Jr., who arranged to have two strippers bring out Barry's birthday cake.

Getting in a holiday spirit

Shonda Schilling (left) joined "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" stars Brian D'Arcy James and New Hampshire native Kerry O'Malley for the opening night party on Wednesday at Citi Wang Theatre.

From here to Sundance

We count at least three films with local ties selected for next month's Sundance Film Festival. Newton-raised filmmaker Anna Boden and co-writer/director Ryan Fleck will be in Utah for the world premiere of their drama "Sugar," about a Dominican baseball star who's recruited to play in the minor leagues. The duo previously teamed up for "Half Nelson," which earned actor Ryan Gosling an Academy Award nomination for best actor. Harvard film professor Robb Moss and Harvard science historian Peter Galison's documentary "Secrecy" will be making its world premiere at the 10-day fest. Also screening will be "Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North," a documentary by Katrina Browne that follows 10 descendants of a Rhode Island family as they explore the history of the slave trade.

BU writing group earns a high-five

The Atlantic Monthly recently gave BU's creative writing program high marks, ranking its faculty among the five best in the country. Several of the celebrated scribes will read their stuff Monday in the School of Management auditorium. The impressive literary lineup includes Leslie Epstein, David Ferry, Allegra Goodman, Ha Jin, Robert Pinsky, Derek Walcott, and Rosanna Warren.

Maybe if he'd spent a little more time here, former governor Mitt Romney wouldn't have made such an egregious Red Sox-related gaffe during the Republican presidential debate the other night. Lamenting the much-publicized gap between World Series wins, Romney said the interval between rings was 87 years. Ouch. As Joe Mathews of the LA Times pointed out afterward, "every New Englander with the power of speech can tell you the BoSox waited 86 long years." In Romney's defense, no one ever accused the Michigan native of being a New Englander.

The good news for actor-turned-director Ben Affleck is that he made Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Smartest People in Hollywood." The not-so-good news? He's No. 50. ("Superbad" and "Knocked Up" writer-director-producer Judd Apatow tops the list.) The editors picked Affleck because "he learned from his mistakes." In the issue that's out today, they go on to recount some of the Oscar winner's more painful choices - on screen and off. "After bottoming out with his unholy trinity of 'Gigli,' 'Jersey Girl,' and Bennifer, Affleck did something few would dare: He disappeared. Then he adapted and directed 'Gone Baby Gone' with the assuredness of someone who'd been waiting for this shot his whole life."

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