Since Hepburn' stage career was mentioned it's worth noting she was fired from several shows before she became famous, and was considered somewhat impossible - at least then. She also originally returned to Broadway from films in a colossal flop: The Lake. The one where Dorothy Parker said she ran the gamut of emotions from A to B. I think she bought herself out of that, as she bought herself out of her RKO contact after she was labeled Box Office Poison, and went on the stage again, in The Philadelphia Story - a hit - which she bought the rights to - with Howard Hughes's help. With the proviso that she star in the film version. She had also done Jane Eyre, on the stage just before that - not a hit. I don't think it got to Broadway.
Her next Broadway venture - Without Love - was not a big hit, either, but was made into a pretty good Tracy-Hepburn film. Her later stage triumphs were in The Millionairess, in London, and Coco, on Broadway. Other stuff was bad, or just ok. A Matter Of Gravity, e. g. She also did Shakespeare, at Stratford, CT.
Katharine came from money, she never had children so she didn't need to spend money raising them, and she also invested wisely (or her father did, for her) and she had the money to navagate her early career more effectively at an early age. She also was able to take @ 5 years off in the 60s and all but gave up her career at the time, to take care of Tracy.
Bette was in A Night With Carl Sandberg, on the stage, as well as the musical revue, Two's Company, The Night Of The Iguana, and the musical, Miss Marple. Ginger later tried to revive Miss Marple, by the way, and played the show. That may have already been mentioned, idk. Ginger also did a lot more stage work. Not just the shows mentioned but a lot of summer stock plays, and a one-woman song-and-dance show in summer stock.
Crawford once auditioned for the Broadway play, Kind Sir (later made into the Cary Grant-Ingrid Bergman movie, Indiscreet). Joshua Logan was directing, He thought her audition was great. He wanted to give her the part, but she replied she had no intention of doing a Broadway show, she just wanted to see if she could do it. Crazy bitch.
I don't think Stanwyck ever returned to the theater after she got into movies.
