Welcome to the Angela Iannone gallery of formerly living celebrities. The intense actor, director and college teacher has built a prodigious body of work in Wisconsin heavy in the classics but widely ranging in genres, periods and styles. Tucked into her lengthy acting resume is an intriguing curiousity that is becoming something of a habit for Iannone. She plays iconic real life characters from recent history.

First there was the fiery opera diva Maria Callas in the play "Master Class." Iannone did Callas for the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, the now defunct Madison Repertory Theatre and other companies around the country in a stretch of time that lasted 10 years. Fashion journalist Diana Vreeland ("Full Gallop") and sex symbol Mae West ("Dirty Blonde") followed for Renaissance Theaterworks and the Chamber Theatre, respectively.

Now the actress is about to portray her most familiar real-person character yet, Katharine Hepburn, in the In Tandem Theatre production of "Tea at Five." Matthew Lombardo's one-actor play opens Friday, Oct. 9 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 25 in the intimate Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St.

The playwright set the dramatic biography at Hepburn's longtime home in Fenwick, Conn., at two distinctly different times in her career. In the first act, she is seen in the late 1930s, with her career foundering and her penchant for privacy frustrated by a turbulent love affair with Howard Hughes.

Life is much better in Act 2. It is 1983, and although the beloved actress is suffering from health problems, she has recently won an Oscar for her work in "On Golden Pond" and is happily feisty. She discusses painful personal issues as well as her professional success.

Iannone's preparation for "Tea at Five" has included watching virtually every one of Hepburn's movies, she said in a recent interview. She has read the movie star's autobiography, "Stories of My Life," her memoir about the making of "The African Queen," and Barbara Leaming's exhaustive biography, simply titled "Katharine Hepburn."

Speaking of portraying historical figures, Iannone said, "I do all of my research and get it totally digested before rehearsals begin. I like to start with that a year out from opening night. I want to have the voice, have the speech cadence and have an idea of how that all works before rehearsals."

The biggest challenge in playing a real-life character? "You have to be careful to not let your performance become a demonstration, a lecture," Iannone said. "Specifically for playing Hepburn, I have to get the palsy right."

Hepburn suffers from tremors in the second act. "I have to find that, (the palsy), let it be in there, without it becoming what the show is about."

Iannone said she has not sought to play famous real life characters, but she likes the work. "I enjoy spending time in their company. I am such a history geek and a trivia geek. I learn something from each one."

From Callas, the actress said she learned, "Who are you saving it for? Your career is what you are doing right now."

From Vreeland, Iannone learned, "She was so joyful. She was so intensely interested in the often overlooked -- color and light and texture."

From West, "She enjoyed herself so much. She enjoyed any and everything about herself."

Iannone said it is too soon to know what she will learn from Hepburn, but she admires her for being fearless and unabashed. "She was the quintessential American actress."

Asked which of those people she most closely resembles, Iannone laughed and sidestepped the question. "Medea," she said, referring to the classic Greek character she has played. But then the actress noted her daughter is named after Maria Callas.

I think we got our answer.

The Skylight's smart choice

Four years ago, the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre board conducted a national search for an artistic director to succeed co-founder Montgomery Davis and then made the smartest choice possible. It went into its own backyard to select C. Michael Wright, a local actor-director-producer and teacher. The company was on the verge of financial collapse, and Wright used his skills and talents, along with a huge amount of good will he had built in the community over the years, to lead the Chamber back to economic and artistic stability.

The Skylight Opera Theatre performs under the same Broadway Theatre Center roof as the Chamber, and now it has made a similarly intelligent choice. After the company's corrosive summer of discontent, the board has appointed Amy S. Jensen to be its new managing director.

The situations are not identical. Wright is a theater artist while Jensen is an administrator. But like Wright, the new Skylight managing director enjoys a wealth of respect and affection in the community as well as an impeccable track record.

Numbers are Jensen's specialty, but the people who put on the shows love her. These qualities are essential for the Skylight's return to good health, because there is still a steep financial mountain to climb, and the trust that was breached during the divisive summer must be rebuilt.

Free theater tickets

Four Wisconsin professional stage companies -- the Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, First Stage Children's Theater and Peninsula Players in Door County -- are participating in the national Free Night of Theater promotion this month. That means free tickets will be available starting at noon on Thursday, Oct. 1 for these performances:

"The Year of Magical Thinking," Milwaukee Rep, Thursday, Oct. 15; "Happy Now?" Milwaukee Rep, Tuesday, Oct. 20; "Picnic," Milwaukee Chamber, Thursday, Oct. 15; "Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business," First Stage, Friday, Oct. 16, and "Around the World in 80 Days," Peninsula Players, Thursday, Oct. 15.

Reserve tickets at www.freenightoftheater.net.