Tea at Five is a one-woman play, written by Matthew Lombardo, which tells the story of Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...

 in a monologue. It is based on Hepburn's book Me: Stories of My Life. The play starred Kate Mulgrew

Kate Mulgrew

Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...

, and was apparently written with her in mind for the part.

Mulgrew is something of a Hepburn lookalike, and has been frequently compared to Hepburn, a comparison she has said in interview she found "odious." Mulgrew was not a fan of Hepburn before studying for the part, but apparently came to greatly appreciate Hepburn while researching the role.

Plot

Tea at Five is an intimate look at Katharine Hepburn at home in her Fenwick estate in Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

.

The first act takes place in September 1938. Despite Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 appearances and her first Oscar, she has just been labeled "box office poison" after a series of film flops. With her professional future in doubt, she contemplates her childhood in Hartford, education and her start in show business.

The second act takes place in February 1983, after Hepburn was injured in a car crash. The accident affords the now-legendary star an opportunity to reflect on the triumphs of her career and her heart-breaking romance with Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...

.

Productions

Premiered at Hartford Stage

Hartford Stage

Hartford Stage, located in Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the leading resident theatres in the United States, known internationally for entertaining and enlightening audiences with a wide range of the best of world drama, from classics to provocative new plays and musicals and neglected works...

 in 2002 starring Kate Mulgrew.
Subsequently has been produced at Cleveland Play House, American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Promenade Theatre (New York), Cuillo Center for the Arts (West Palm Beach, FL), Orpheum Theatre (Phoenix, AZ), The Buschnell Belding Theatre (Hartford, CT), The Shubert Theatre (Boston), Hippodrome Theatre (Baltimore), Seattle Repertory Theatre, Marines Memorial Theatre (San Francisco), and Pasedena Plahouse.

There is an audiobook production of Tea at Five available on CD, released in September 2004. The script is published by Samuel French.

A tour starred Four time Tony Award Nominee Tovah Feldshuh

Tovah Feldshuh

Tovah Feldshuh is an American actress, singer and playwright.-Early life:Terri Sue Feldshuh was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of Lillian and Sidney Feldshuh, who was a lawyer. She was raised in Scarsdale, New York, an affluent community in Westchester County and graduated...

, opening at the Northshore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL and then playing the Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on January 9 through 13, 2008.

Other actors to star in Tea at Five include Stephanie Zimbalist

Stephanie Zimbalist

Stephanie Zimbalist is an American actress best known for her role as Laura Holt on the NBC detective series Remington Steele.-Background:...

 and Charles Busch

Charles Busch

Charles Louis Busch is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and female impersonator, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which was a success on Broadway.-Early life:Busch was born in 1954 and...

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