There is a tea party happening at the Northlight Theatre
that everyone is invited to and nobody who remotely cares about the craft of
acting should miss. The host of the tea
party is none other than Katharine Hepburn who is alive and well and still
living in Tovah Feldshuh.
Ms. Feldshuh,
who is one of the world's finest actresses, has left all pretenses behind (as
she did with Golda Meir) and now inhabits the soul of Ms. Hepburn in the one
woman play, Tea at Five. The reworked story, by Matthew Lombardo,
which is based on Hepburn's book, "Me: The Stories of My Life", dispels the
myths and rumors surrounding her life as she tells her invited guests what made
her the woman and the legend Hepburn has become. Make no
mistake, Katharine Hepburn was a lady. Never once does Feldshuh let you forget that fact. Neither in her voice or her mannerisms is
there ever a doubt the Hollywood royalty title
Hepburn finally garnered after being labeled "box office poison" was well
deserved.
The
original play, which ran in New
York and toured with Kate Mulgrew in the role, was a
two act piece in which act one took place in 1938 and the second in 1983 after
a car accident left Ms. Hepburn with a broken ankle. The Lombardo/Feldshuh version
reduces the piece to a single act where the story begins right after the car accident
and flashes back to her early career and finishes where it starts. This gives a much more understandable and
cohesive arch to Hepburn's emotions and what shaped her life; including her
unemotional father, a family plagued with suicides (including Hepburn's brother
whom she found hanging) and an honest sense of her sexual identity and her companionship
with Spenser Tracy.
Director
John Tillinger, who also directed the aforementioned version, keeps the story
compact and gives the actor the freedom to work, though not every director has
the fortune of such a talent such as Tovah.
The play is
here for a very limited run, however, in this season of parties, stress and
shopping, why not take ninety minutes out of your day and have a cup of tea
with Ms. Hepburn. She would love your
company (Though be careful–I hear the tea tends to be spiked.)
Tea at Five
plays through December 23, 2007 at the Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd.,
Skokie, Illinois. For showtimes and ticket information please
call (847) 673-6300 or visit www.northshorecenter.org
Listen to
Tovah Feldshuh's interview with Stage Door Chicago to find out more about her
journey to becoming Katharine Hepburn.
Photo: Tovah Feldshuh
