Phylicia Rashad Interviews Billie Allen for League of Pro Theatre Women

On Monday, September 22, actress Phylicia Rashad will interview Billie Allen, for the League of Professional Theatre Women. The free event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Library for the Performing Arts, at 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York City.

Betty Corwin, who produces the Oral History series, is delighted that "The outstanding actress and director, Phylicia Rashad, the first African-American actress to win a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play, will be interviewing Billie Allen, the dancer, actress, director and activist who has contributed so much to the American theatre. We're proud that Billie is not only a founding member of the League of Professional Theatre Women but that she has contributed so much of herself to civil rights causes through the years."

Allen is a highly respected actor/director/philanthropist. After appearing on Broadway as a dancer in Jerome Robbins's "On the Town," many musicals followed. Elia Kazan spotted her talent and arranged a scholarship to study acting under Lee Strasberg. Later Allen studied with Lloyd Richards and Harold Clurman. She appeared in the original Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun," "Blues for Mister Charlie" and "Critic's Choice."

On television, Allen has been seen in dozens of commercials. A trailblazer, she appeared in the first national soap commercial for Tide to feature African Americans.

As a director, Allen's credits include highly praised productions. Most recently, she is proud to have directed the late Ruby Dee in Saint Lucy's Eyes.

As a co-founder of the Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop in the 1970s, Billie Allen has helped nurture generations of playwrights. Allen co-founded the Women's Project at the American Place Theatre, and along with Julia Miles was a co-founder of the League of Professional Women's Project.

She has served on the Boards of the American Place Theatre, the New Federal Theatre, and AMAS Repertory and for many years was on the administrative board of the TONY Awards. In 2006, to honor her husband, an outstanding arranger, composer, orchestrator and pianist, Billie established the Luther Henderson Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Juilliard School of Music.

Off-Broadway she played roles in "Funnyhouse of a Negro," "Bohikee Creek" and in "Every Night When the Sun Goes Down" at the American Place Theatre, for which she received a Lucille Lortel nomination for her performance. Her most recent film appearance is in Lynn Nottage's "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark."

Whether she is bringing laughter to millions of television viewers around the world, moving theatre-goers to tears, thrilling movie fans, offering new insights to students by teaching Master Classes at renowned learning institutions that include Howard University, Julliard, and Carnegie Mellon, serving on Boards of prestigious organizations, or breaking new ground as a director, Rashad is one of the entertainment world's most extraordinary performing artists.

A native of Houston, Texas, Rashad graduated Magna Cum Laude from Howard University.

She became a household name when she portrayed "Claire Huxtable" on The Cosby Show, a character whose appeal has earned her numerous honors and awards. Currently, she portrays the role of Dr. Vanessa Young in the NBC series, "Do No Harm."

She has also been a force on the stage in projects that showcase her musical talent shown in "Jelly's Last Jam," "Into The Woods," "Dreamgirls" and "The Wiz."

Rashad has performed on Broadway in "August: Osage County," in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," in August Wilson's "Gem Of The Ocean," and in Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" at Lincoln Center. She received both the Drama Desk and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her riveting performance in the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin In The Sun.'

Rashad made her directorial debut at the Seattle Repertory Theater with August Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean." Critics gave her rave reviews, saying "Rashad steers Seattle Rep's show with great sensitivity and understanding -- for both the text and actors."

In 2011, the Los Angeles Times hailed Rashad's California directing debut of "A Raisin in the Sun" by stating that she "...nails the play's rich humor in a solidly rendered production." She remounted it in Los Angeles and in Westport Connecticut.

Respected in the academic world, Rashad is the first recipient of the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham University. She received Honorary Doctorates from Spelman College, Fordham University, Carnegie Mellon University, Howard University, Providence College, Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Barber Scotia College, St. Augustine College and Brown University.

Among the myriad awards that decorate her walls are several NAACP Image Awards and the Pan African Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. Rashad is also the mother of two adult children.

Rashad will interview Allen. With the help of the Betty R. and Ralph Sheffer Foundation, the League has interviewed Mercedes Ruehl and Tyne Daly; the Edith Meiser Foundation has previously supported the interviews of Bebe Neuwirth, Patti LuPone, Christine Ebersole, playwright Kia Corthron, Donna Murphy, Frances McDormand, and many others.

The ongoing Oral History Project chronicles and documents the contributions of significant theatre women in many fields. The interviews are videotaped and preserved for posterity in the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

This program is produced by Betty Corwin and made possible by the generous support of Angelina Fiordellisi, artistic director of the Cherry Land Theatre.