An Evening with Phylicia Rashad

The Margaret Hill Visiting Artist Series Presents:
An Evening with Phylicia Rashad

Saint Mary's College is pleased to present An Evening with Phylicia Rashad. During this evening of interview-style retrospective, Rashad will talk about her extensive acting career in films, TV and on the Broadway stage, as well as her directorial work interpreting, among others, the plays of August Wilson. Ticket holders will be offered the opportunity to submit questions that will be part of this unique and intimate public conversation.  

Rashad, an accomplished actress and stage director, became a household name when she portrayed ‘Claire Huxtable’ on The Cosby Show, a character whose enduring appeal has earned numerous awards and honors for over two decades. Film and television credits include: The Beekeeper (2024 release), Jingle Jangle, Pixar’s Soul, Black Box, A Fall From Grace, Creed, Creed II, Creed III, For Colored Girls; This is Us (three Emmy nominations), Diarra From Detroit, Little America, The Crossover, The Good Fight, David Makes Man, and Empire.

Inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2016, Ms. Rashad received Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performances as ‘Faye’ in Skeleton Crew and ‘Lena Younger’ in A Raisin in the Sun, the Lucille Lortel Award for her performance as ‘Shelah’ in Head of Passes, and a Tony nomination for her portrayal of ‘Aunt Ester’ in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. Ms. Rashad has directed plays by Pearl Cleage (Blues For An Alabama Sky), August Wilson (Gem of the Ocean, Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), Stephen Adly Guirgis, (Our Lady of 121st Street) and Paul Oakley Stovall (Immediate Family) at prestigious regional and Off  Broadway Theaters. Rashad, who serves as Co-Chair of the Advisory Council for the African American Cultural Heritage Fund, recently completed her tenure as Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.

About the Margaret Hill Visiting Artist Series

An Evening with Phylicia Rashad is made possible by the Margaret Hill Visiting Artist Endowment. Margaret “Peggy” Hill '61, the late Broadway producer and Saint Mary's alumna, graciously endowed the Margaret Hill Chair in theatre. This generous gift allows the College to bring theatre artists of national and international prominence to our campus each year. While each of these visits is unique, the visiting artist always offers a presentation to the general public and private guidance to our theatre students, in the form of masterclasses, tutorials, and Q & A luncheons. Peggy Hill died on September 27, 2018 at her home in New York City. Upon receiving her bachelor of arts degree in 1961, she pursued a law degree at Fordham Law School and graduated summa cum laude in 1965. She went on to receive a master of laws degree from New York University Law School, and served as a law clerk for Kenneth B. Keating, only the second woman to serve as a law clerk in New York's highest court. Hill also had a distinguished career as a theatre producer. In 1994, Hill graciously endowed the Margaret Hill Chair at Saint Mary’s College. Hill also co-founded Angela House, a transitional residence for young teenage mothers, served on several boards in New York, and cherished her Irish heritage, by serving on the Executive Council of the Irish American Historical Society. For her contributions to the arts, philanthropy, and to the College, Hill was awarded an Honorary Degree in 2004, the Alumnae Association Distinguished Alumna Award in 2001, and was the Shannon Executive Scholar in 1995.

Because of Saint Mary's, I have a real feeling of confidence, the most important thing a producer needs -- to be sure of your own vision.

– Margaret “Peggy” Hill ’61