The Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced that Tony-winning actress and stage director Phylicia Rashad has been selected as the 2017 honoree of the annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts event, Broadway World reports.
Rashad is a long-time collaborator with Steppenwolf. In 2009 she starred as Violet Weston in the Chicago-based company’s production of “August: Osage County.”
Rashad made history when she became the first African-American actor to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, which she received for her performance of Lena Younger in a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun” in 2004. She’s also appeared on Broadway in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Gem Of The Ocean,” and Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline.”
Rashad was seen in last year’s hit “Rocky” sequel “Creed” and can be seen returning to television this fall with a featured role on Fox’ hit series “Empire.”
The annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon, where Rashad will be honored, takes places on Monday, February 6, 2017. Previous honorees for Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts include ensemble members Joan Allen, Laurie Metcalf, Martha Plimpton, Claire Danes, Juliette Lewis, Julianna Margulies, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson, and Mary-Louise Parker. Rashad will join Steppenwolf Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro for a conversation about her career and her various roles as an actress, director, and leader in theater.
