Mulgrew: 'Trekkies Are Amazing'

Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) learned just how loyal Voyager fans are when they showed up for her play, Tea at Five, multiple times.

"They don't just see my play once--they see it 10 times," Mulgrew told the Palm Beach Post. "Trekkies are amazing," she declared.

Tea at Five, in which Mulgrew plays Katharine Hepburn is currently playing in West Palm Beach, Flordia, and Trek fans have followed. "I've made friends among them, who've followed me all over the world," Mulgrew said.

Mulgrew is no stranger to a rigorous working schedule. One of her earliest roles was in the soap opera Ryan's Hope. Filming a Trek show is no less demanding, as the actress originally cast as Janeway, Genevieve Bujold, found. Mulgrew noted how much work goes into producing a Trek show: "I know there's a kind of person who regards Star Trek with a jaundiced eye, but they dismiss the incredible amount of work it takes. I defy any actor to do that," she said.

Playing Hepburn in Tea at Five is something Mulgrew has thrown herself in completely. "I [wanted] to capture the complexities of this maverick, self-directed Yankee who, at the same time, sat at the feet of a married man for 27 years, a man who never told her he loved her," Mulgrew said. "There was much expected of her, and [because of her choices] she could afford to become a huge star. It was all about her. She said it herself."

Mulgrew acknowledges there are certain similarities between her experience and Hepburn's, especially in childhood. Both suffered painful personal losses early in life. "The most startling [similarities] are the parallels in our private lives," Mulgrew said. "They're very stunning.... She felt the repercussions of her brother's death early in her life, and I had two sisters die when I was young. That absolutely does shape us. I'd say you make up your mind, when your heart's broken like that, what you're going to do with your life." She added, "I would say [Hepburn and I] grew up very fast. We had to."

For more from Mulgrew on Ryan's Hope and performing in Palm Beach, visit the Palm Beach Post online.

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