Aspiring playwright Matthew Lombardo was watching the television program Star Trek: Voyager with his friend Nancy Addison.
As they watched Kate Mulgrew in the lead role of Captain Kathryn Janeway, Lombardo remarked, "I said, 'My God, she looks like Katharine Hepburn!
A tour starring four-time Tony Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh opened at the Northshore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL, and then ran at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, FL, from January 9 through 13, 2008.
A professionally licensed production of Tea at Five took place at the Stratford-upon-Avon Fringe Festival (UK) from June 2–9, 2012, starring Meg Lloyd as Katharine Hepburn.
This production was also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013, co-directed by Richard Bunn and Rebecca Phillips, and starring Meg Lloyd.
However, Tea at Five's Boston engagement had not been a major audience draw and received mixed reviews, which likely would not have encouraged a Broadway transfer[citation needed].