Mulgrew To Take On Cleopatra After Hepburn

Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) will play one of the title roles in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and would like to star opposite Christopher Walken, the actress revealed as she kicked off publicity for Tea at Five in San Francisco.

Mulgrew, who has toured as Katharine Hepburn in the one-woman show for several years, told The San Francisco Chronicle that after performing Tea at Five in Los Angeles this summer, she would play Cleopatra at the Classic Stage Company in New York. She said that she had planned to stop performing as Hepburn earlier this year after she appeared in Baltimore, but added that she had not been offered anything better and decided to enjoy the "shelf life" of the Hepburn drama while there was interest in it.

"You know, everybody does an impersonation of Hepburn," said Mulgrew. "Drag queens, most notoriously and probably the most brilliantly. Because there is a real broadness to her. But I wanted to approach her from a different angle...[she was] steadfast and disciplined." During the break between the San Francisco and Los Angeles productions of Tea at Five, Mulgrew is planning to visit Ireland with her younger son, Alexander.

Totally Kate!, Mulgrew's official web site, also has several new interviews with the actress about Tea at Five. On The Beat, Mulgrew said of playing Hepburn, "I hope that it's made me a better actress. I always hope that it makes me a better human being." On The Mix, she said that playing Captain Janeway was her most difficult role, though she added that it was difficult and sometimes quite lonely to perform a one-woman show.

And on Weekday: Coping with Alzheimer's, Mulgrew discussed being a caregiver for her mother, who suffers from the degenerative condition. She stressed research into potential cures and the need to fund further studies. Video from Mulgrew's recent appearance on KRON can also be found online.

Tea at Five opens Tuesday at the Marines Memorial Theatre in San Francisco.

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