Tea at Five - In Tandem Theatre

In Tandem Theatre presents
Tea at Five
by Matthew Lombardo
Featuring Angela Iannone
Directed by Chris Flieller
Discovery Guide
In Tandem Theatre Company
628 N. 10th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233
www.intandemtheatre.org
414.271.1371
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Table of Contents
About In Tandem Theater Company
3
Brief Synopsis of Tea at Five
4
About Tea at Five Playwright Matthew Lombardo
5
Performance History of Tea at Five
6
An Interview with Angela Iannone
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Background Information for Tea at Five
•
Timeline: Katharine Hepburn’s Life and Career
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•
•
Understanding Society and American Culture During Katharine
Hepburn’s Lifetime
Who was Katharine Hepburn
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11-15
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Hepburn Facts and Trivia
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•
Selected Quotes of Katharine Hepburn
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Pre-show Activities
18-19
Post-show Activities
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Katharine Hepburn Crossword Puzzle
21-22
For Further Reading
23
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About In Tandem Theatre Company
Since 1998, In Tandem Theatre has been committed to producing exciting, innovative live theatre by presenting
creative and eclectic programming designed to enlighten, inspire, provoke and entertain a diverse audience.
Comedy, drama, musicals, classics, original and new works make up a typical season at In Tandem Theatre.
Located in the Tenth Street Theatre at 628 N. 10th St. in downtown Milwaukee, In Tandem offers comfortable
seating in its 99-seat studio theatre, a spacious lobby complete with baby grand piano, a cozy fireplace, and
several visual arts exhibits throughout the year.
In Tandem Theatre is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent
of the law.
Work “In Tandem” with In Tandem Theatre!
While donations are always greatly appreciated (and tax-deductible), there are many ways
to help support In Tandem Theatre. In Tandem uses the assistance of volunteers in several
capacities throughout the season.
⇒ Two volunteers are needed for every performance for taking tickets and selling
concessions. See shows with a friend – and for free!
⇒ Help promote our shows! We need help putting up posters and distributing flyers
around town. It’s fun, it’s easy and it’s great exercise!
⇒ Provide meals for the cast and crew between performances on two-show days.
⇒ Handy with a hammer? Volunteers are needed to help build and paint sets.
(Costume and prop help needed too!)
Student Opportunities
In Tandem Theatre is committed to fostering students who have chosen or are considering a career in
the theatre. Each year, we work with interns from high schools and local
universities in both administration and production.
Consider lighting, set design, stage management, costume design, crew work/
assistant stage management; marketing or development
(grant writing/fundraising).
Check with your academic supervisor to discuss the possibilities –
then give us a call at 414-271-1371.
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Brief Synopsis of Tea at Five
Step into Katharine Hepburn’s Connecticut home for a cozy chat and an
intimate look at the legend--and the woman behind the legend. The independent, intelligent, feisty Hepburn comes alive once again when talented
Milwaukee actor, Angela Iannone, slips deftly into the voice and essence of
the famous actress.
Act I opens in 1938 when 31-year-old Hepburn is five years beyond her
Oscar-winning successes. In the middle of a career slump following a series of movie flops, she waits by the phone to hear whether she got the
part of Scarlet in a film called Gone with the Wind. In Act II, it’s1983 and
Hepburn reflects on her life and career. She begins to exhibit symptoms
of Parkinson's disease, but her eyes still shine with intelligence, wit, and
the wisdom that informs a long life lived to the fullest. Tea at Five touches
on Hepburn's turbulent childhood, the suicide of her much beloved
brother, Tom, and long and tumultuous affair with Spencer Tracy.
For a complete, detailed synopsis of Tea at Five, see In Tandem’s web site:
www.intandemtheatre.org. Click on Tea at Five and look for “Downloads”
on the lower right sidebar. Then click on “Tea at Five Synopsis.”
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About Tea at Five Playwright
Matthew Lombardo
Matthew Lombardo made his professional debut in the 1979 production of Damn Yankees at Hartford Stage. A Connecticut native like
Katharine Hepburn, Lombardo left for the bright lights of New York
City and quickly built an impressive resume, writing and directing
many plays both in New York and regionally. He directed Torch Song
Trilogy and the Off-Broadway comedy End of the World Party. He was
both playwright and director for Mother and Child and Guilty Innocence.
Other plays he’s written include House of Atreus, The Kennel Club, Trolls and Looped,
about Tallulah Bankhead, which recently premiered at The Pasadena Playhouse. He is
currently working on a new drama titled High.
When asked where he got the idea to write Tea at Five, Lombardo says, “My
good friend, Nancy Addison, who was Kate's dear friend, (and I) were flipping
through channels and Star Trek: Voyager came on, and I saw (Kate Mulgrew’s) beautiful face, and I said, ‘Someone has to write a play for this woman about Katharine
Hepburn.’ And my friend Nancy said, ‘Well you're a playwright you idiot, why don't
you write it?’ So I did. And that’s how it came about. I really…I had no intention of
writing a play about Hepburn…”
Lombardo dedicates Tea at Five to his mother, Julia, without whom he says,
“There would be no words.”
THAT’S A MOUTHFUL!
Some of Katharine Hepburn’s greatest films, such
as The African Queen, are not
part of the Tea at Five script.
In an earlier version, when
Kate Mulgrew premiered
the role at Hartford Stage, Kate Mulgrew in Tea at Five
American Repertory Theatre
every Hepburn film was
mentioned. She jokes that she enumerated
“every single picture (Hepburn) ever did,
and collapsed in a coma on the stage!”
TAKE NOTE
Matthew
Lombardo wrote
Tea at Five over
five years. After
extensive research, he wrote a
first draft in three days. He says,
“There have been 137 drafts since
then.”
Compiled from information from Mr. Lombardo, Amazon.com, 123people.com, 24-7pressrelease.com, and totallykate.com
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Performance History of Tea at Five
Tea at Five premiered at Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT, in 2002.
It had a successful run at the Off-Broadway Promenade Theatre
and continues to tour the country, having played over 1,000
performances nationwide. The play recently debuted in both
Finland and Sweden.
Tea at Five won playwright Matthew Lombardo the 2002 IRNE (Independent
Reviewers of New England) Award for Best Solo Play.
Kate Mulgrew originated the role. Other actresses, such as Stephanie Zimbalist and
Tovah Feldshuh, have starred in various productions of Tea at Five.
In Tandem Theatre is pleased to present the Milwaukee premiere of Tea at Five.
http://steveonbroadway.blogspot.com/2006/09/tea-at-five-sob-review-mcknight.html
ATTENTION TEACHERS AND GROUP LEADERS!
In Tandem Theatre Company wants your theater-going experience to be as
enjoyable as possible. For this reason, we want you to be informed about the
content of the show.
Tea at Five and the contents of this Discovery Guide are suitable for all adult,
college and most high school junior and senior audiences. They contain
references to Katharine Hepburn’s untraditional approach in her relationships
with men, as well as reference to Hepburn’s brother, who took his own life
when he was 15.
For more specific information, In Tandem Theatre Company invites you
to call our office at 414-271-1371. Ask to speak with Chris Flieller,
Artistic Director. He is happy to answer questions, respond to concerns,
and provide specifics about the content. A script for Tea at Five
can be made available.
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Interview with Angela Iannone
Q: The process of preparing for a one-woman performance such as
Tea at Five must be challenging. What has been most challenging?
A: In my own experience, the process of preparing for a one-person show
actually seems shorter than preparing for a multi-person show. The last two
single-player shows I have done I have had shorter rehearsal hours and less
rehearsal time because, well, there is only so much you can do when it's just
you. The challenges are exactly the same as they are in a multi-person show,
except if you lose your thread of concentration there is no one to save you.
Angela Iannone
Q: What have been your favorite aspects of preparing for the role?
A: My favorite part of preparation is always the research. I have been reading the biographies and her autobiography. I have been watching the movies and listening to the books on tape and watching the interviews. I really enjoy all that. My two favorite Kate Hepburn movies are Bringing up Baby and Philadelphia Story,
so it was fun to revisit those. I also have watched several I had never seen. The other fabulous part about
playing Kate Hepburn is that no matter who you ask, everyone has a connection to her. No one says, “I hate
Kate Hepburn" and everyone has a great story about how one moment of one her films affected them or
even changed their life.
Q: What connections have you been able to make between the play and your own life? What connections do you think the audience might be able to make?
A: I believe Kate Hepburn has always been a role model for women. Her independence, strength and individual style have been inspirational for several generations of women. She wasn't a conventional beauty, nor
was she curvy and hyper-feminine. She was athletic, smart and fearless. She was disciplined and passionate
and she made herself comfortable in her life. Those are things I think we all would like to believe we have in
us.
Q: In a sense, you are playing two characters, Hepburn at 31 and Hepburn at 75. Beside changes in
costume and make-up, what approaches do you use to prepare for and make the transition from a
younger to an older Katharine Hepburn?
A: Interesting you should phrase it that way; I don't see it that way at all. It's one Kate all the way through.
And really, since she was so secretive about her exact age, I'm respecting that and not putting a number label
on either act. It's "younger Kate" and "older Kate". And both acts are "thresholds" in a way, because they
mark a change in her life and career. Act One, 1938 is just after an Oscar and "box office poison" and just
before The Philadelphia Story. Act Two is 1983, after Spencer's death, her car accident and just before she
made a movie for Warren Beatty that marked a bit of a "comeback" which would go on to include On Golden
Pond, A Delicate Balance, Love Among the Ruins and Long Day's Journey Into Night. The movie for Warren Beatty
is terrible, by the way. And he asked her to say the “F word” in it, apparently for no other reason than because he wanted to make a classy woman respected for her taste and breeding say a nasty word on camera. It
certainly isn't called for in the script or needed in the story line--but there you are. In terms of the play, besides the obvious change in costume and makeup from Act One to Act Two, there won't be much of that
makeup thing. I do not intend for this to be a play about me being applauded for the "old age" makeup in
the Second Act. It isn't about that for me. The younger Kate is breezy and brash and about to face down a
hurricane. Rather a blithe spirit and just delightful company. The older Kate is facing aging, loss of some
functions and re-inventing herself as a performer and person. Both acts present interesting challenges -- but
they aren't different people and they aren't different characters. There isn't really a difference. The stories
she chooses to tell have a different slant in Act Two than they do in Act One.
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Q: As you’ve gotten to know about Katharine Hepburn’s life on a deep and intimate level, what do
you admire most about her?
A: I admire her business sense. Few people are aware of how much influence she had over the scripts she
performed in. She had a huge hand in co-writing The Philadelphia Story and it wasn't uncommon for her to
meet with her directors several weeks before shooting began to discuss script changes, costumes, lights and
just about every other detail. That kind of thing is common now; it wasn't then. She invested her money
wisely, valued her privacy and worked extremely, extremely hard at being a good actor. She returned to the
stage again and again to refresh and refine her craft, playing leading roles in Shakespeare and even starring in
a Broadway musical. She spoke her mind and enjoyed her work -- no small achievements, those two
things. She also lived pretty much as she wanted to live, as she herself says, and that in itself is more than
something to admire. It's something to emulate.
Q: What do you like least about her? This will be the second woman I've played about whom I have no
patience for the men they chose. I do not understand the devotion to Spencer Tracy -- just as I didn't understand Callas' devotion to Aristotle Onassis. Apparently Kate Hepburn didn't understand it either, and admitted that it seemed crazy even to her. She defined it as love; I guess we should believe her.
Q: Playing an extraordinary woman who was and is admired and loved is an accomplishment and
tribute.
A: I hope it will be an accomplishment, I hope it will be a fitting tribute.
A: Who else would you like to play, and why?
During the time that (director) Chris Flieller and I were looking for a one-woman script to do together, I
read lots of really, really bad scripts about extraordinary women. And not just bad because they were poorly
written, which they were, but bad because they focused on uninteresting things about fascinating, complex
people. I have several things on my "I wish I may, I wish I might" list, but I have found it more helpful in
my career to focus on the collaborative -- so many more interesting things happen that way. I'm interested
in talking with writers, directors and producers who have a certain vision of me that may spark a show or a
creation that I never would have dreamed of.
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Timeline: Katharine Hepburn’s Life and Career
1907
Katharine Hepburn born May 12 in Hartford, CT (the second of six children) to
Dr. Thomas Norval Hepburn and Katharine Houghton Hepburn.
1921
Brother Tom, 15, commits suicide when Kate is just 13.
1928
Graduated from Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania; BA degree in history and philosophy.
Joins a stock company in Baltimore. Marries Philadelphia socialite, Ludlow Ogden Smith.
1932
Her Broadway role in Warrior's Husband brings a movie offer from RKO. Goes to Hollywood at
$1,500 per week. Stars opposite John Barrymore in A Bill of Divorcement. Wins her first Best Actress
Oscar for Morning Glory. Appears in the film Little Women.
1934
Divorces Ludlow Ogden Smith.
1935
Alice Adams
1937
Stage Door
1938
Bringing Up Baby
1939
Branded "box office poison" by Hollywood. Acquires rights to The Philadelphia Story, a comedy
about a spoiled heiress. After it is rewritten for her, takes it to the New York stage, where is it a hit.
1940
Returns to Hollywood to make the film version of A Philadelphia Story, which also stars James
Stewart and Cary Grant. Once again, Hepburn is a top Hollywood star.
1942
Makes her first film with Spencer Tracy: Woman of the Year.
1949
Adam's Rib.
1951
Hepburn leaves MGM and divides her time between the stage - Shaw's The Millionairess and
Shakespeare's As You Like It - and film. Coolly braves a jungle for The African Queen. Does her own
balloon flying in the low-budget Olly Olly Oxen Free.
1957
Desk Set
1962
Wins Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival for A Long Day's Journey Into Night.
1967
Wins Oscar for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
1968
Wins third Oscar for The Lion in Winter. Ties with Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl).
1969
Returns to Broadway to star in musical Coco, about fashion designer Coco Chanel.
1973
The Glass Menagerie
1975
Rooster Cogburn with John Wayne.
1976
While starring in play, A Matter of Gravity, breaks an ankle. Goes on in a wheelchair.
1981
Wins Oscar Number 4 for On Golden Pond. Co-star is Henry Fonda.
1982
Stars in Broadway play, West Side Waltz. She nearly loses a foot in an auto accident. But by the end
of the year, she is filming Grace Quigley with Nick Nolte.
1986
Narrates emotional, 90-minute public television broadcast about Spencer Tracy's 37-year
Hollywood career, The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn.
1987
Becomes best-selling author with her first book, The Making of 'The African Queen’.
1991
Writes another book, a memoir of sorts, titled Me: Stories of My Life.
2003
Hepburn dies on June 29 at her home in Old Saybrook, CT, with family by her side.
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Sources: www.cbsnews.com, IMDb.
Understanding Society and American Culture
During Katharine Hepburn’s Lifetime
Katharine Hepburn was born in 1907 and died in 2003. During her long lifetime, there were many
changes in American culture and especially in equal rights for women. However, Katharine Hepburn was
always ahead of her time. She was a self-empowered woman who took charge of situations and her own
career to make the life she wanted for herself.
In the early 1900’s when Katharine Hepburn’s parents, Kit and Tom, began their careers, society
implicitly condoned men “sowing their wild oats before marriage.” One source indicates that 60% of young
unmarried American men had venereal disease. Gynecologists estimated that 75% of major operations on
married women’s generative organs were the result of sexually transmitted diseases contracted from their
husbands. The resulting children fathered by such men were born with physical and mental defects. Women
died of venereal disease transmitted to them by their husband who had visited prostitutes. But a cloak of
silence among doctors prevented young wives from fully understanding how they had contracted lifethreatening gonorrhea.
Katharine Hepburn’s father, aunt (Edith) and uncle (Donald), all physicians, saw firsthand the suffering of their patients that resulted from these cultural norms. Along with Katharine’s mother, they worked
to change laws and to force improved social hygiene.
Here are some events and changes during Katharine Hepburn’s lifetime.
•
In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law.
•
Also in 1920, Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the
clinic is shut down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, she eventually wins support through the courts
and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923.
•
In 1929, the Stock Market crashes; the depression begins. Before this, films and theatre reflected the
affluent, lighthearted lifestyle of the 1920’s. During the 1930’s, the performing arts were more a reflection of difficult financial times.
•
During the 1930’s the federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through
the mail was modified and birth control information was no longer classified as obscene. Throughout
the 1940’s and 50’s, birth control advocates were engaged in numerous legal suits.
•
Women’s status changed during World War I (1914-1918) and again during World War II (1939-1945).
Wartime needs prompted women to work in factories and offices; women wore pants. The military cut
influenced clothing styles. When each war was over, many women were displaced in their jobs by returning servicemen. Clothing styles became more feminine.
•
Legislation during the 1960’s granted women and other protected groups equal rights. These include
the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the same time, Title VII established the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and impose penalties.
Women had been working for the rights mentioned in this last point since the days when Katharine Hepburn’s mother and aunt, and others worked for these rights in the early 1900’s.
Leaming, B.: Katharine Hepburn, p. 108.
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Who Was Katharine Hepburn?
To understand who Katharine Hepburn was, and how she developed into the personality portrayed
in Tea at Five, it is useful to look into the background that influenced her adult life. It is also helpful to read
about unique aspects of Hepburn’s adult life and career. Read below the following to learn more about
Katharine Hepburn.
Katharine Hepburn’s strong, self-disciplined, courageous, independent personality developed from the way she was raised. In the Hepburn household, Katharine’s parents openly discussed politics,
women’s issues, prostitution, sexuality, social hygiene and social change; the children were included in these
discussions. Her mother encouraged the children to be forthright, speak their mind, and “have their say on
all subjects.” Like her siblings, Katharine was brought up to be forthright and to always speak her mind. Her
mother raised her and her siblings “to think, enhance their self-respect and joy of living.”
As a child, Katharine observed her mother, Katharine Houghton Hepburn and her aunt, Edith
Houghton Hooker. These women graduated from college in 1899 and 1900, a time when women were
strongly discouraged from seeking an education.
While her mother managed a household and raised six children, she organized and led campaigns
for women’s right to vote, both in Connecticut and on the national level. Katharine saw her mother as a
“powerful officer, planning strategy and issuing orders to her troops on a daily basis.” From her birth in
1907 until women achieved the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Katharine
and her brother, Tom, would often hear their mother on the phone influencing people to become active
supporters of women’s suffrage, speaking before large audiences, or passing out leaflets at demonstrations.
After the 19th Amendment was passed, Mrs. Hepburn was approached to run for the U.S. Senate, a testimony to her skill as a political leader.
Katharine’s Aunt Edith was one of the first women to earn a medical degree from Johns Hopkins
Medical School. Both her aunt and her mother were suffragettes, leaders, public speakers and organizers for
social change.
Her father, Thomas Hepburn, was a surgeon and noted urologist, a pioneer in social hygiene. Like
his own mother before him, he strove to “put the family back on the map.” He demanded that his children
excel in whatever they did and encouraged them in sports, such as tennis, golf, and sailing. He challenged
them to take physical risks, climb trees and do trapeze stunts. He seldom complimented his children and
often criticized them. His children tried hard to gain their father’s approval.
Growing up, Kate saw in her mother a woman who argued fiercely and refused to back down regarding politics and world affairs. But when it came to household and family, Mrs. Hepburn often deferred
to her husband. Throughout her life and career, Katharine was a strong, self-disciplined woman who took
risks and overcame downturns and failures. She was courageously outspoken, even when what she thought
and said was in conflict with others. She lived life and managed her career on her own terms.
“I've been as terrified as the next person, but you've got to keep going.”
- Katharine Hepburn
Much of the information in this section is derived from Barbara Leaming’s well-researched and written 1995
biography titled Katharine Hepburn.
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Katharine Hepburn was decisive, with an all-or-nothing attitude and
approach. Her first day at Bryn Mawr college, she entered the dining hall
wearing a blue skirt and matching sweater. Above the din, a distinct, confident voice said, “Self-conscious beauty.” Katharine finished her dinner, but
after that she took her meals alone.
She studied at The Actors Studio in New York. After a few months,
she left, saying she didn’t go in for all the emotional realism being taught. She
said she was going to Hollywood to become a star.
Later in life, she met and fell in love with Spencer Tracy. He was an alcoholic with intense bouts
of self-doubt and depression. He was also married. She dedicated herself completely to supporting him
and taking care of him. Over their 26-year relationship, she was often at his side, nursing, protecting and
supporting him, sometimes at the expense of her own career.
A smart businesswoman who took charge of her career. In Hollywood in the late 1930’s, film
producers tried to control stars like Katharine Hepburn. As one of her biographers, Barbara Leaming
writes, there was nothing insidious about (producers) babying stars and wanting to make them emotionally dependent. Hepburn was a valuable commodity. If she let them, producers would control her and
swallow her up.
Hepburn struggled to keep things crisply professional without hurting anyone’s feelings. Leaming says, “Loneliness was the price Kate paid for this self-imposed isolation.” Although Leland Hayward
acted as her agent, she essentially did most of her own negotiating.
Katharine Hepburn sometimes found her own scripts. She negotiated payment for screenplays,
negotiated her own contracts, and negotiated the right to approve the choice of director and actors.
James Prideaux, Hepburn’s friend and screenwriter, says of her, “She was very shrewd, very
aware of everything when it came to her career and her image. There wasn’t much that Kate wasn’t
aware of.”
HEPBURN QUOTES AND ANECDOTES
“So I’ve had control, and anyone who has control and doesn’t use it is a fool if they
don’t make the best of it.”
“When you come right down to it, I’ve haven’t lived life as a woman at all. I’ve lived life as
a man, made my own decisions, etc.”
Once a crowd chased me for an autograph. "Beat it," I said, "Go sit on a tack!"
"We made you,” they said.
"Like hell you did,” I told them.
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Hepburn was a self-made woman, with her own original, individual style. She did for
acting what Picasso did for painting. Just as Picasso developed new styles and approaches to painting, Hepburn created her unique style of acting. Both Picasso and Hepburn had long, prolific careers.
As a young schoolgirl, later when she was a college student at Bryn Mawr, PA (1924-1928)
and then as an aspiring actress in New York in the 1930’s, Katharine Hepburn alienated other students and much of the public with her eccentric approach to gender, sexuality, and later, to stardom. She dressed in old clothes, typically slacks (at a time when the norm for women was dresses),
wore no makeup, and drove around in a truck. Later in her life she said, “I wear my sort of clothes
to save me the trouble of deciding which clothes to wear.”
Judith Christ, theatre critic, writes, “I can think of few actresses who served, as Hepburn
has, as an inspirational ‘role model’ for so many of us. Part tomboy, part romantic, part poet, her
beauty is so ingrained that it has always gone against the fashion, her spirit so valiant that it has always implied defiance of convention, her
courage so much the moral effort of a sensitive and vulnerable personality, her independence an inspiration for us all.”
Maitland McDonagh wrote this tribute in TV Guide at Hepburn’s death,
“Katharine Hepburn made the world safe for
women in pants. … like her movie-star sisterin-slacks Marlene Dietrich…offhandedly stylish, forthright women who held their heads
high and strode through life to the beat of
their own hearts. With her tall, angular figure,
clipped speech patterns and candid but understated sexiness, Hepburn didn't fit the female stereotypes -- vamp, flapper, tough-talking dame, simpering ingénue -- that were popular
when she began her career. She never tried to change herself to fit the fashions or fads of the day,
and she's now one of the classic stars whose performances look consistently modern and unselfconscious.
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The men in Katharine Hepburn’s life played complex and unique roles. As mentioned before, Katharine Hepburn’s father, Tom, supported her mother’s talent, skill and strength. When Mrs. Hepburn first became involved in the campaign for women’s suffrage, neighbors visited and told her, “My dear,
you must not take up this cause. Everyone in town will be against you. You will be socially ostracized.”
That night, she told her husband about their neighbors’ visit and asked him, “Do you think it will
hurt your work (as a young surgeon building your practice) if I take up this cause?”
He replied, “Of course it will, but do it anyway. If you don’t stand for things you believe in, life is
no good. If I can’t succeed anyway, then let me fail.”
Katharine Hepburn’s father supported her mother, but only to a point. Her involvement in the
women’s suffrage movement must not interfere with her duties at home. When he returned from work at
five, he expected to find his wife “behind the tea set.” When his wife told him about her opportunity to run
for the US Senate, he responded, “Well fine, Kit. When do we get our divorce papers?” So Katharine grew
up with mixed messages about women’s roles.
A traumatic event that forever marked Katharine Hepburn’s young life was the death of her beloved brother Tom, when Katharine was 13 and Tom was 15. Tom’s suicide was not the first in the family.
Mrs. Hepburn’s father, Fred Houghton and her uncle, Charlie Houghton, as well as Mr. Hepburn’s brother
Charlie, all had taken their own lives.
Kate adored her father and idolized her brother. Kate’s father could be critical and demanding. She
tried hard to live up to his expectations and win his approval. When her brother died, her father never spoke
about Tom again, virtually disowning him. Katharine sensed her father’s denial and her mother’s deep, silent
grief. This put pressure on Kate, a young, impressionable girl. After Tom’s death, Katharine tried even
harder to please her father, protect him from his guilt about his son’s death, and make up for the loss of his
son. She isolated herself, stopped going to school, cut her hair short, took her brother’s birth date as her
own, wore his clothes, and worked even harder to gain her father’s approval.
These early relationships with men important to her caused issues that Katharine dealt with
throughout her life. As an adult, she was conflicted in her relationships with men, sometimes being attracted
to men she could easily control, such as Ludlow Ogden Smith, and other times she wanted a father figure
whose approval she could gain. Or, she was attracted to men like Spencer Tracy, who were self-destructive
and needed someone to care for them. Here are brief descriptions of the important men in Katharine Hepburn’s adult life.
Ludlow Ogden Smith
Katharine married Ludlow Ogden Smith in 1928, the same year she graduated from college. Luddy, a Philadelphia socialite in the insurance business, was a saintly man who happily backed Kate in everything. Before
they were married, Kate even got Luddy to drop his last name; he became Ludlow Ogden because Kate did
not want to be known as “Kate Smith.” Although Kate was strong-willed like her father, expecting to get
her way, there was a part of her that longed for Luddy to react strongly, as Dr. Hepburn would have done.
They divorced amicably in 1934 and Luddy and Kate continued to be friends. Luddy often spent time at
Fenwick with Kate’s family.
H. Putnam Phelps
After Katharine moved to New York, she fell in love with poet H. Phelps Putnam, one of America’s fine
young poets in the 1920’s and 1930’s. At that point, Putnam was blocked as a writer. In their short time
together, Kate’s energy and intensity inspired Putnam to write a poem about her, Daughters of the Sun. Some
say that perhaps Putnam did his best writing in praise of Kate. According to some biographers, their relationship was never consummated.
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Leland Hayward
When Kate moved to Hollywood in 1932, she developed a relationship with
Leland Hayward, her agent. The relationship turned into an affair. Both Kate
and Leland were busy people who poured their time and energy into their
work. Although both were divorced from their respective spouses by 1934,
they never got married and their relationship gradually dissolved. Kate may
have felt that Hayward was consumed with the financial aspects of their work
while her focus was on her love of the work itself.
John Ford
Katharine and film director John Ford met when he shot a screen test of her.
He directed the 1936 film, Mary of Scotland, in which she played the title role.
They developed a professional and personal relationship. Ford was enchanted
by Hepburn’s fearlessness, relish for trading barbs, strong opinions, and irreverence. Hepburn appreciated Ford’s craft as a director and his ability to absorb
and appreciate people and life. They shared a passion for golf, the sea, and
travel. Since Ford was married and a Catholic, he vacillated in deciding to divorce his wife and marry Katharine.
Howard Hughes
The 31-year-old millionaire and movie producer pursued Kate in 1936.
She loved the theatricality of life with Hughes, the money, power, the
yachts, the airplanes, and the notoriety that followed them wherever they
went. Hughes advised her to acquire the movie rights to Philadelphia Story.
Spencer Tracy
Tracy and Hepburn had wonderful on-screen chemistry. During the 26 years they
were together (1942-1967) they made nine films together. The two were opposites in
that Hepburn was confident, risk-taking, forward-moving, steady and professional.
Tracy was plagued with self-doubt, guilt and depression. He was a womanizer and an
alcoholic. Like Hepburn’s father, he was domineering and critical, and even verbally
abusive to her. But she loved him. Katharine Hepburn did her best to take care of
him and to support him in his career, sometimes at the expense of her own career.
"I don't believe in marriage. It's bloody impractical
to love, honor and obey. If it weren't, you wouldn't
have to sign a contract."
- Katharine Hepburn
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Legend has it that when
Kate met Spencer, she
commented, “I’m afraid
I’m a little tall for you,
Mr. Tracy.” His reply:
“Don’t worry, I’ll cut you
down to size.”
Hepburn Facts and Trivia
Nicknames: First Lady of Cinema, The Great Kate
Height: 5' 7½". One of Hollywood's early tall leading ladies, in an era when most actresses were only a
little over 5'.
•
Was a natural red head. She was of Scottish and English descent.
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Played strong independent women with minds of their own.
•
Her film career spanned seven decades. She was perhaps the most decorated actor, male or female,
in the industry. She won more Academy Awards for lead roles than anyone and her 12 nominations
in the Best Actress category stood as a record until 2003 when Meryl Streep surpassed her with 13.
•
In her work, Katharine Hepburn transformed herself from the key actress of a generation into thespian royalty, an uncontested icon of live theater and cinematic art.
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In her private life, she was involved with celebrities such as agent Leland Hayward, director John
Ford, millionaire Howard Hughes, and actor Spencer Tracy, with whom she had a 26-year love affair.
Trivia
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Had a relationship with Spencer Tracy from 1942 until his death in 1967. Did not attend Spencer
Tracy's funeral out of respect for his wife and family.
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Made nine films with Spencer Tracy, the first of which was Woman of the Year (1942). The last was
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967).
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Aunt of actress Katharine Houghton, who portrayed her character's daughter in Guess Who's Coming to
Dinner (1967).
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Became very fond of Christopher Reeve, both as an actor and as a person, when he made his Broadway debut opposite her in the 1978 production of A Matter of Gravity. She became so fond of him
that she used to tease him that she wanted him to take care of her when she retired. Ironically, his
reply was "Miss Hepburn, I don't think I'll live that long".
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Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue".
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Is the only movie star to win four Academy Awards, all for her leading roles in Morning Glory (1933),
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).
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Despite her success at the Oscars, she never attended an Academy Awards ceremony as a nominee.
Her only appearance was at the 1974 awards to present the Irving Thalberg Award to her friend Lawrence Weingarten. When she went onstage to a standing ovation, she said "I'm living proof that a
person can wait forty-one years to be unselfish."
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Did all her own stunts because she felt the stunt woman never stood up straight enough.
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Was known for being an avid golfer, tennis player, and swimmer. She was also known for taking cold
showers.
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Was fired by the producer of Travels with My Aunt (1972) early in the filming for demanding too many
script changes.
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A 1999 survey of screen legends by American Film Institute ranks Hepburn “Number One Actress”.
Adapted from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000031/bio
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Selected Quotes of Katharine Hepburn
“Acting is the most minor of gifts. After all, Shirley Temple could do it when she was four.”
“Being a housewife and a mother is the biggest job in the world, but if it doesn't interest you,
don't do it - I would have made a terrible mother.”
“Enemies are so stimulating.”
“Death will be a great relief. No more interviews.”
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”
“If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.”
“I never realized until lately that women were supposed to be the
inferior sex.”
“I think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are
really there because they're good or there because they're lucky.”
“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way
that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around.”
“Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next
door and just visit now and then.”
“The average Hollywood film star's ambition is to be admired by an American, courted by
an Italian, married to an Englishman and have a French boyfriend.”
“We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the
teachers - but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault, because
if you wanted to change you're the one who has got to change.”
“When I started out, I didn't have any desire to be an actress or to learn how to act. I just
wanted to be famous.”
“Without discipline, there's no life at all.”
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PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES
Ponder this…
Self-awareness and self-discovery are possible through the study of lives of famous
people. Read the “Who Was Katharine Hepburn” section of this Discovery Guide.
Then discuss and/or write brief answers to these questions.
TOPIC 1
Reading about Katharine Hepburn, one has the sense that she did what she did
wholeheartedly. She was never one to “run with the herd” and conform to society’s
expectations.
Are there aspects of your current life that are uniquely yours, not conforming to
others’ expectations? For example, your style of dress, your choice of friends, the
kinds of things you say and do? What are they? Why are they important to you?
What do these aspects communicate about you?
TOPIC 2
As you consider the next five years of your life, are there aspects of your life that you
would like to be uniquely yours? Which aspects? In what way would you like them to
be unique? How? Why?
TOPIC 3
Growing up in Katharine Hepburn’s family, everything was discussed openly. Her
parents didn’t try to protect their children from the world. When she and her siblings
interacted with other children who didn’t know or weren’t aware of what the Hepburn children knew and were aware of, this caused conflicts for the Hepburn children.
What are the benefits of the Hepburn family’s approach to raising children? What
are drawbacks to their approach?
In your own family, are their topics you would not discuss with young children?
What are they? Why would you not want to discuss these topics?
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ME THIS!
Below is a list of names and terms connected with the play Tea at Five. Choose one of these terms
and do a Google search to find more background information. Create a one or two page summary
of facts related to that name or term.
PEOPLE
Spencer Tracy, actor
John Ford, director
Humphrey Bogart, actor
George Cukor, director
Leland Hayward, agent
Peter O’Toole, actor
Howard Hughes, millionaire
Henry Fonda, actor
Cary Grant, actor
PLACES
Fenwick, Hepburn family cottage
Bryn Mawr College
HISTORY
Suffragettes and the 19th Amendment
Theatre Guild
RKO Movie Studio
MGM Movie Studio
WRITE A MOVIE REVIEW
Put yourself in the role of a movie critic. Watch one of Katharine Hepburn’s movies. Pick one
from the films listed earlier on the page with “Timeline: Katharine Hepburn’s Life and Career.”
Note that reviews are written for several reasons: to entertain, to provide information, and to offer
an objective, informed opinion supported by specific examples. Write concisely. Keep the review
informative and interesting. The review should be written in a two-column format on one page,
like a newspaper article. Here are some items your review can include.
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Headline – an attention getter.
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By-line, with your name as movie reviewer.
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Facts: The who, what, where, and when of the film.
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General statement of the quality of the film.
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Analysis of major strengths and weaknesses of: the story, the acting,
technical elements such as lighting, sound, music, scenery, special effects.
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A final comment or assessment.
Note to the instructor: You may have each student present his or her review in a small group in
class. Assign each student to critique the review of someone in the small group. Critiques should
include three strengths of the review and one area in which the review can be improved.
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POST-SHOW ACTIVITIES
Consider the questions below and write short responses or discuss these with classmates.
Katharine Hepburn was a complex person. On one hand, she was strong and fiercely independent. At times she would state her opinion with bravado, and then move on, not
giving others a chance to respond. She was guarded and selective about what she said
about herself, and about who she chose as friends. After reading the “Who Was Katharine
Hepburn” section of this Discovery Guide and seeing Tea at Five, consider these questions.
Question 1
What do you like and admire about Hepburn? What do you not like about her? Might she
in any way serve as a role model for you? In what ways?
Question 2
There are quotes of Katharine Hepburn throughout this Discovery Guide and on the page
titled, “Selected Quotes of Katharine Hepburn.” Chose a quote, or two or three, with a
similar theme. Then answer these questions: Is your thinking in agreement with these
quotes? Why or why not? If not, what do you believe?
Read and Write about Katharine Hepburn
Read one of the biographies of
Katharine Hepburn listed on the
“For Further Reading” page of this
Discovery Guide. Decide on some aspect
of Katharine Hepburn’s life and career
that interests you. Write a 1-2 page
paper on that aspect.
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Katharine Hepburn Crossword Puzzle
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Across
Down
1. Hepburn had a number of famous _____ in her life
3. Film with Peter O’Toole, Lion in ________ .
5. Where people sleep.
7. City in CT where Hepburn was born.
9. Animal that crawls along the ground.
10. Hepburn’s _____ was Leland Hayward.
11. Only musical she made, about legendary fashion designer _____ Chanel.
12. After 7 unsuccessful films, she was labeled “box _____
poison”.
13. A less successful films, Olly Olly Oxen _____.
15. Hepburn’s mother, campaigning for women’s right to
vote, was known as a _________.
18. Film with Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, The African
______.
19. Film (1947) with Spencer Tracy, ____ of Grass.
20. Hepburn wanted the role of Scarlet _____ in GWTH.
21. Hepburn’s hair color.
24. College in PA she attended: _____ Mawr.
25. Playwright for Tea at Five, Matthew _______ .
26. Film (1949) with Spencer Tracy, Adam’s _____.
27. Hepburn’s family home in CT.
28. Her former husband, Ludlow Ogden Smith’s nickname.
30. Her father and older brother shared this first name.
31. Opposite of “do”.
1. John Ford directed her in ______ __ Scotland.
2. She had a 27-year relationship with actor Spencer __.
4. Opposite of “out of”.
5. Film with Cary Grant and a leopard, 1938.
6. Film (1957) with Spencer Tracy.
7. Hepburn’s one time boyfriend, millionaire Howard
____.
8. Another word for a very young child.
14. Play (1939) and film (1940) that pulled her career out
of a slump, Philadelphia _______.
16. Her father was this type of medical specialist.
17. One of her directors, ________ Cukor.
22. Film (1937), Stage ______.
23. One of her later films, with Henry Fonda, On Golden
_______ .
27. Film director and for a while, her steady date, John
_____ .
28. Shakespearian play Hepburn did, As You _____ It.
29. Her younger brother, _____, received money from
her and wrote a play about her, which she did not like.
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Solution on next page
Katharine Hepburn Crossword Puzzle - Solution
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For Further Reading
Andersen, Christopher P. Young Kate. 1998.
Berg, A. Scott. Kate Remembered. 2003.
Britton, Andrew. Katharine Hepburn: The Thirties and After. 1984.
Considine-Meara, Eileen. At Home with Kate: Growing Up in Katharine Hepburn's
Household. 2007.
Dickens, Home. Films of Katharine Hepburn. 1971.
Edwards, Anne. Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn. 1985.
Hepburn, Katharine. Making of the African Queen, or How I Went to Africa with
Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind. 1987.
Hepburn, Katharine. Me: Stories of My Life. 1991.
Higham, Charles. Kate: The Life of Katharine Hepburn. 1975.
Kanin, Garson. Tracy and Hepburn; An Intimate Memoir. 1971.
Leaming, Barbara. Katharine Hepburn. 1995.
Mann, William J. Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn. 2006.
Marill, Alvin H. Katharine Hepburn. 1973.
Prideaux, James. Knowing Hepburn and Other Curious Experiences. 1996.
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