LINCOLN PARK — Best known for her role as mother Clair Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," Phylicia Rashad takes center stage Monday at Steppenwolf Theatre's eighth annual Women in the Arts fundraiser.
Rashad, the focal point of "Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts," will be interviewed by the company's artistic director, Anna Shapiro, at noon Monday at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, 221 N. Columbus Drive.
Rashad played Violet Weston in Steppenwolf's 2009 Broadway production of "August: Osage County," directed by Shapiro.
The company expects about 400 people to attend the fundraiser, which benefits its professional development programs, including Steppenwolf for Young Adults, the School at Steppenwolf and the professional leadership programs providing apprenticeships, fellowships and internships.
Tickets start at $200, and table sponsorships for $5,000 are available by calling Steppenwolf's Special Events Department at 312-654-5632 or emailing specialevents@steppenwolf.org.
In 2004, Rashad was the first African-American to win the Tony Award for best actress in a play for a revival of "A Raisin in the Sun."
Most recently, she returned to television this season with a guest-starring role in the Fox drama "Empire," filmed in Chicago.
Previous women saluted in the annual fundraiser include Steppenwolf troupers Joan Allen, Laurie Metcalf and Martha Plimpton, as well as Claire Danes, Julianna Margulies, Mary-Louise Parker and Juliette Lewis.
