CHICAGO- Four hundred leaders from Chicago”Æs business and civic communities came together for the 2016 Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts fundraiser to honor acclaimed film and television star Claire Danes on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N State St. The sold-out event began with a VIP reception, followed by welcoming remarks from Steppenwolf Board Chair Nora Daley and Steppenwolf Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro. Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts, who played ”Andrew Lockhart”Æ alongside Claire Danes in Showtime”Æs Homeland, led an engaging and candid conversation with Ms. Danes about her incredible career and impact as a leading woman in the arts.
Susan Oleari, Adela Cepeda, and Diane Whatton Photography by Paula Subler
In addition to her connection with Tracy Letts, Claire Danes performed with Steppenwolf ensemble members Tom Irwin and Jeff Perry in the hit TV series, My So-Called Life. Both Irwin and Perry were in attendance at the event, along with ensemble member Robert Breuler and Managing Director David Schmitz. Other notable attendees included Amy Rule, First Lady of Chicago, Diana Rauner, First Lady of Illinois and Michelle Boone, Commissioner of ChicagoӮs Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
Mary Kathryn Hartigan and Anne Marie Murphy
The seventh annual event raised $200,000 for SteppenwolfӮs education and professional development programs that train the next generation of young leaders in the arts. Steppenwolf empowers future artists and audiences by producing two full-scale productions for teen audiences, providing in-class and afterschool workshops through Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA), and offering hands-on, intensive training for actors and young arts administrators through the Professional Leadership Program. Last season, SYA experienced a record-breaking attendance of 17,000 students, teachers and families from 92 schools across Chicago.
”°The Women in the Arts luncheon provides an exciting platform to celebrate the accomplishments of important female artists while engaging in a meaningful dialogue about the value of art-making in all of our lives. Claire Danes is one of the strongest women working in theater, television, and film, and her work is held in high esteem by many, including our ensemble. It was an honor to welcome her into our home,”± shares Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro.
Karen Zelden, Doug Brown, and Sarah Beardsley
Previous honorees for Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts include ensemble members Joan Allen, Laurie Metcalf and Martha Plimpton, along withJuliette Lewis, Julianna Margulies, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson and Mary-Louise Parker.
Lead sponsors of 2016 Women in the Arts luncheon were BMO Harris Bank and Helen Zell. The Host Committee of the 2016 Women in the Arts luncheon included Sarah Beardsley*, Marlene Breslow-Blitstein*, Vilma Chan, Elizabeth H. Connelly*, Nora Daley*, Mary A. Dempsey, Kelly Epstein, Amy Eshleman*, Noreen Gallagher, Lynn Hauser, Donna LaPietra*, Lynn Lockwood Murphy, Susan Oleari, Deborah Quazzo*, Elizabeth Schubert, Anna D. Shapiro*, Stephanie B. Smith*, Katie Spring, Susan Warrington, Nina Winston and Helen Zell*. *Denotes Steppenwolf Trustees
Additional notable guests included Ellen Alberding; Steppenwolf Trustee Douglas R. Brown; Mary Ellen Caron; Joan Clifford; Frances Comer; Antonia Contro; Caroline Beak Crown; Marilyn Fields; Madeline Grynsztejn; Francia Harrington; Steppenwolf Trustee Caryn Harris; Stephanie Field Harris; Mary Kathryn Hartigan; Christie Hefner; Ashley Hemphill; Leslie Hindman; Rachel Kraft; Willa Lang; Peg Lombardo; Steppenwolf Trustee Holly Maloney; Debbie Marchese, Lyn McKeaney; Steppenwolf Trustee David Mendelsohn; Steppenwolf Trustee Heather Mitchell; Eileen Murphy; Pam Netzky; Trisha Rooney; Cari B. Sacks; Smita Shah; Steppenwolf Trustee Colette Cachey Smithburg; Traci Tricoci; Diane Whatton, Director of U.S. Community Affairs for BMO Harris Bank; Meredith Wood-Prince; and Karen Zelden.
Rachel Waimon, Maureen Connelly, Lisa Hoffman, and Eileen Madigan
The conversation was kicked off with an incredible video highlighting Ms. DanesӮ versatile career assembled by Donna La Pietra and Kurtis Productions. Event Creative designed the decor and the audio and visual elements were provided by Frost. United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline Partner of Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
About the Honoree
Recognized as one of Hollywood’s leading actresses, Claire Danes”Æ impressive career spans major motion pictures to groundbreaking television series.
Claire Danes currently stars on Showtime”Æs critically acclaimed series ”°Homeland.”± For her performance as ”°Carrie Mathison”± she has won back to back Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for ”°Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series or Drama” and a 2013 SAG Award for ”Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.”
Danes also received critical acclaim for her performance in HBO’s Temple Grandin biopic. Based on the extraordinary life of Temple Grandin, the film chronicles how she turned her unique talent into a behavioral tool that revolutionized the cattle industry and laid the groundwork for her successful career as an author, lecturer, and pioneering advocate for autism and autism spectrum disorder educations. Danes won the 2010 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie” and the film won for “Outstanding Made for Television Movie.” She also won the 2011 Golden Globe Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television” and the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries.”
Danes starred in Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed film, Me & Orson Welles opposite Zac Efron and Christian McKay. The screenplay by Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo Jr. is based on the novel by Robert Kaplow and is set in the heady world of Orson Welles’ famed Mercury Theater. The National Board of Review named the film as one of 2009’s Top Independent Films.
In 2007, Danes made her Broadway debut starring in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion opposite Jefferson Mays. Her performance as ‘Eliza Doolittle’ was well reviewed by critics.
Danes garnered critical acclaim for her performances in Anand Tucker’s Shopgirl opposite Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman, Richard Eyre’s Stage Beauty opposite Billy Crudup, Burr Steer’s Igby Goes Down opposite Susan Sarandon, Jeff Goldblum, Ryan Phillippe and Kieran Culkin, Baz Luhrman’sWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.
Danes first caught critics’ and audiences’ attention in Ed Zwick and Marshall Hershkovitz’s acclaimed series, My So Called Life, which earned her an Emmy Nomination and she was awarded the Golden Globe for her leading role as ‘Angela Chase.’
Danes’s other film credits include: Matthew Vaughn’s Stardust opposite Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, Lajos Koltai’s Evening opposite Toni Collette, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Natasha Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave, Thomas Bezucha’s The Family Stone opposite Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker, Jonathan Mostow’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nick Stahl, Stephen Daldry’s Academy Award winning drama, The Hours opposite Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Allison Janney, Ed Harris and Toni Collette, Jonathan Kaplan’s Brokedown Palaceopposite Kate Beckinsale, Billie August’s Les Miserables, Theresa Connelly’s Polish Wedding, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rainmaker opposite Danny DeVito and Matt Damon, Oliver Stones’ U Turn opposite Sean Penn, Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Pressman’s To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Peter Gallagher, Jocelyn Moorhouse’s How to Make an American Quilt opposite Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn, Billy Hopkins’ I Love You, I Love You Not opposite Jude Law, Jodie Foster’s Home For The Holidays opposite Robert Downey Jr., Holly Hunter and Anne Bancroft and Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women opposite Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Kirsten Dunst.
Danes is also an accomplished dancer and has received critical acclaim for her performances in “Edith and Jenny” and “Christina Olson: American Model” both choreographed by Tamar Rogoff.
Submitted by Steppenwolf Theater Company