NY Public Library Presents Katharine Hepburn Papers Series

To celebrate the recent donation and opening for public viewing of the Katharine Hepburn Papers at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Library is presenting a new series of free public programs, Remembering Kate. The programs will include readings from the legendary actress' personal papers for the first time and reminiscences by family, friends, and colleagues including actors Zoe Caldwell, Katharine Houghton (Hepburn's niece), Charlotte Moore, Marian Seldes, and Sam Waterston; talk show host Dick Cavett; and director Anthony Harvey.

The four-part series, produced by Alan Pally, the Library's Manager of Public Programs, opens Tuesday, February 19. Free tickets will be distributed, one per person, starting two hours before each program. The events are held in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 111 Amsterdam Avenue at 65th Street. For further information about these programs and others, call  212.642.0142.

Tuesday, February 19, 6:00 p.m.
Remembering Kate:  Zoe Caldwell and Sam Waterston
Readings from the Hepburn Papers and reminiscences by her friend Zoe Caldwell and fellow actor Sam Waterston, who played her son Tom Wingfield in the 1973 television production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.

Monday, March 31, 6:00 p.m.
The Lioness in Winter: My 35-Year Friendship with Katharine Hepburn
Anthony Harvey, who directed Hepburn in her Oscar-winning performance in the film The Lion in Winter and in the television production of The Glass Menagerie in conversation with Foster Hirsch, author of a number of books on theater and film

Saturday, April 12, 3:00 p.m.
Remembering Aunt Kat
Katharine Hepburn's niece, the actress Katharine Houghton, and Hepburn's friend Charlotte Moore, the Artistic Director of the Irish Repertory Theater, in readings from the Hepburn Papers and reminiscences.

Monday, April 28, 6:00 p.m.
Dick Cavett and Marian Seldes in Readings from Hepburn's Papers, Reminiscences, and a Screening
There will be a screening of a 20-minute videotape of Katharine Hepburn being interviewed by Dick Cavett at her New York home in 1984. This interview was done for the Museum of the City of New York's exhibition, Broadway to Hollywood: Great Plays into Great Movies and, in it, Ms. Hepburn discusses her career both in the theater and in the movies, in particular, the play and the movie The Philadelphia Story, which gave her career new impetus.

The Billy Rose Theatre Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts acquired Katharine Hepburn's extensive theatrical papers, including journals, scrapbooks, photographs, letters, notes and scripts in the fall of 2007.  These little known papers are now available to the public for the first time and reveal new details about Ms. Hepburn's theatrical career and include correspondence from such notable actors as Laurence Olivier, Judy Garland, Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, and Peter O'Toole. Her papers include her own colorful and funny accounts of touring with such plays as As You Like It and Coco, providing a fascinating glimpse into the workings of touring productions and confirming her reputation for fearless honesty. The collection also includes her vocal drills and her research materials for her theatrical roles. The Katharine Hepburn Papers was donated to The New York Public Library by the trustees of Ms. Hepburn's estate.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses the world's most extensive combination of circulating, reference, and rare archival collections in its field. Its divisions are the Circulating Collections, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, Music Division, Billy Rose Theatre Division, and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound. The materials in its collections are available free of charge, along with a wide range of special programs, including exhibitions, seminars, and performances. An essential resource for everyone with an interest in the arts –whether professional or amateur– the Library is known particularly for its prodigious collections of non-book materials such as historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters, and photographs.