Tea at Five with  Kate Mulgrew written by Matthew Lombardo, directed by  John Tillinger September 8 - 22, 2002

Cambridge, MA - The American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) is please to present Hartford Stage's acclaimed production of  Matthew Lombardo's play Tea at Five - a portrait of screen and stage legend Katharine Hepburn - with renowned television and film actor Kate Mulgrew, directed by John Tillinger. Performances begin on Sunday, September 8 at 7:30  pm, and run through Sunday, September 22. The production will be available for press viewing on Tuesday, September 10 at  7:30 pm.

 Tea at Five is an intimate look at Katharine Hepburn at home in her Fenwick estate in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. The first  act takes place in September 1938. Despite Broadway 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, her  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. Lombardo's play reveals Hepburn as an undeniable talent that is equal parts  intuitive, witty, and fiery.
 

"Mulgrew gives a remarkable performance. She has all the experience and technique to hold the stage." -  Variety

" The legend is Katherine Hepburn, and the actress is Kate Mulgrew, who gives a thoroughbred  performance.
Hepburn would love it." - Boston Globe

"Kate Mulgrew is sensational as the tomboyish Bryn Mawr movie queen. Mulgrew's re-creation of the sharp  Hepburn voice and theatrical mannerisms is uncanny." - Boston Phoenix

 Because of her intelligent choices in roles, authoritative presence, and distinctive look, Kate Mulgrew - best known as  Captain Janeway on UPN's Star Trek: Voyager - has often been likened to Hepburn, making her a natural choice to play  the actress in Tea at Five. Ms. Mulgrew's acting resume encompasses work on the stage, on television, and in film. She  made her acting debut on ABC's Ryan's Hope, for two years playing the role of Mary Ryan. Simultaneously, she earned the  role of Emily in the Shakespeare Festival (Stratford, CT) production of Our Town. After she completed her work on the  daytime soap opera, she was given her first prime time leading role as the title character on Kate Columbo (also known as  Kate Loves a Mystery). Her subsequent television work included leads, recurring and featured roles on Murphy Brown, Cheers, Man of the People, and Heartbeat. Her film work has included roles in Love Spell - Isolt of Ireland (with Richard Burton), A Stranger is Watching (with Rip Torn), and Throw Mama from the Train. Her stage work includes appearances  in Black Comedy on Broadway, Titus Andronicus at the Shakespeare Theater in New York City's Central Park, and  Hedda Gabler and Measure for Measure at the Mark Taper Forum. Her career blasted off to another dimension when  she was selected for the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway on Paramount Television's syndicated smash Star Trek: Voyager.  She was the first woman in the science fiction franchise's history selected to lead the series, a position she held for seven  seasons. Her rare appearances at fan conventions have resulted in thousands of dedicated Trekkers traveling from all over  the globe to see her in person. She recently completed filming her major motion picture debut as Capt. Janeway for the next  Star Trek feature film - Star Trek: Nemesis. Currently, Ms. Mulgrew is assisting her husband, Tim Hagan, in his election  campaign for the office of Governor of Ohio.

 Playwright Matthew Lombardo made his professional acting debut in the 1979 production of Damn Yankees directed by  Irene Lewis at Hartford Stage. Last season, he directed the critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway hit comedy End of the  World Party at the 47th Street Theatre. Other Off-Broadway credits include his plays Mother and Child at the  McGinn/Cazale Theatre and Guilty Innocence at the Actors' Playhouse, which he also directed. Regionally, Mr. Lombardo  directed the twentieth Anniversary Production of Torch Song Trilogy at the American Stage Company, and the West Coast  premiere of Mother and Child at the Coast Playhouse starring Tony Award-winning actress Ann Wedgeworth. Having written for the television series Another World, Mr. Lombardo garnered a Writer's Guild Award nomination for Outstanding  Achievement. He has recently finished two new plays entitled House of Atreus and The Kennel Club and is currently working on the stage adaptation of Brad Gooch's novel Scary Kisses.

 Director John Tillinger has an impressive list of theatre credits that includes successes on Broadway and regionally. He has  received Tony Award nominations for his work as a director on Inherit the Wind, The Price, and Loot, for which he also  received the Outer Critics Circle Award. Among his other Broadway credits are the recent productions of Judgment at  Nuremburg, Night Must Fall with Matthew Broderick, Getting and Spending, and The Sunshine Boys. His  Off-Broadway credits include award-winning work on The Lisbon Traviata (Lortel Award), The Perfect Party (Outer  Critics Circle Award), and Entertaining Mr. Sloane (Drama Desk Award). Other Off-Broadway credits include Sylvia, A  Perfect Ganesh, Lips Together Teeth Apart, The Memory of Water, and Comic Potential. Mr. Tillinger has directed What the Butler Saw, Corpse!, and Love Letters in London's West End. His regional credits include many productions at  Long Wharf Theatre. His production of Eleanor - Her Secret Journey with Jean Stapleton, enjoyed two sold-out runs at  the Hartford Stage as well as a record-breaking run at Arena Stage in Fall 2001.

 The creative team for the play includes Tony Award-winning set designer Tony Straiges (Broadway's Into the Woods,  Sunday in the Park with George; Hartford Stage's The Glass Menagerie, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Rough  Crossing), lighting designer Kevin Adams (Broadway's Hedda Gabler, Sexaholix, An Almost Holy Picture), costume  designer Jess Goldstein (Broadway's Inherit the Wind, The Most Happy Fella, Love! Valour! Compassion!;  Hartford Stage's Enchanted April, Light Up the Sky), and sound designer John Gromada (sound and/or original  compositions for Hartford Stage's productions of The Glass Menagerie, The Carpetbagger's Children,  The  Philadelphia Story, Necessary Targets).

 Tea at Five performance Schedule:

 September 8,9,10,12,17,18,19 at 7:30 pm
 September 13,14,20,21 at 8:00 pm
 September 14,15,21,22 at 2:00 pm

 Ticket prices range from $32 to $62 and can be ordered in advance through the A.R.T. Box Office by calling (617)  547-8300, by mail, or through the Internet at the A.R.T.'s award-winning web site with secure data-transfer facilities at  www.amrep.org. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to curtain time on performance days, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and  non-performance days.

 Discounts are available to students and seniors, including student rush tickets thirty minutes before curtain at $12. The  A.R.T. also continues its Pay What You Can program, making fifty tickets available for every Saturday matinee  performance of the subscription season at the Loeb Drama Center for patrons to purchase at whatever amount they can  afford (based on availability). Group rates are also available, with extra savings for senior citizens and student groups.

 To learn more about the A.R.T. season directly from the artists who create each production, including actors, directors,  writers, and designers, connect to the A.R.T. Website at www.amrep.org or call the A.R.T. InfoLine at (617) 547-8300.  The InfoLine is also available 24 hours a day to provide directions to the theatre; to order brochures, calendars, and  newsletters; and to allow direct access to the A.R.T. Box Office.

 The American Repertory Theatre, located at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square at64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, is  accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. An infrared  amplification system is available with headsets provided to patrons at no charge.

 Public transportation and discount parking are available nearby.