After playing Captain Kathryn Janeway for seven years, Kate Mulgrew's return to the stage is getting good word of mouth and, perhaps more importantly, stellar box office.

"Tea at Five," by Matthew Lombardo, is a one-woman show detailing the life of legendary star Katherine Hepburn (see related story here). The play opened a week ago, with Mulgrew getting reviews destined to highlight her scrapbook.

"Mulgrew's precise imitation, energy and savvy are what will delight the masses," wrote New Haven Register critic E. Kyle Minor, who also recounted a near-blunder on opening night that Mulgrew turned into a triumphant moment.

During a poignant moment regarding the death of Hepburn's brother, a piece of scenery crashed to the ground, eliciting gasps from the audience. "Without batting a lash," Minor wrote, "Mulgrew paused and observed, in character, that time levels other things, too."

Along with the critical praise, the Hartford Stage production is drawing crowds. The play has been extended an extra seven performances, having sold out the original run and amassed close to a quarter-million dollars in single ticket sales before opening night. The extension runs through March 17, for more information visit the Hartford Stage Web site via the link below.

In addition to the performances, Mulgrew and playwright Lombardo will be participating in a discussion next week at the Hartford College for Women. Sponsored by the Connecticut Humanities Council, the Hartford Stage's Humanities series "American Visions" discussion with Mulgrew and Lombardo will take place on February 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Auerbach Science Auditorium at the Hartford College for Women. The discussion is free and open to the public.

In addition to the "American Visions" discussion, Mulgrew will also take part in Hartford Stage's Critical Eye Teacher Workshop on Saturday, February 23. This program helps teachers to coordinate their own curricula with productions taking place at Hartford Stage. Mulgrew will be joined in the workshop by Hartford Stage's Education Program Director Talya Brosh as well as Wesleyan University theatre scholar and New York Times correspondent Ron Jenkins. The workshop is for teachers, and will be held from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at Hartford Stage and costs $25 per educator. For more information or reservations for educators, please contact Brosh at (860) 525-5601.