Rashad, TV's Claire Huxtable, to make directing debut in Seattle

Phylicia Rashad won critical acclaim playing the centenarian Aunt Ester in the August Wilson play "Gem of the Ocean."

Next spring, she'll be coming to Seattle to work on that play again, but as a director rather than an actor. In her professional directing debut, Rashad will stage "Gem of the Ocean" at the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Best known as Claire Huxtable (Bill Cosby's television wife) from the TV comedy series "The Cosby Show," Rashad has turned her attention to live theater in recent years. She won a 2004 Tony Award for her performance in a Broadway revival of "A Raisin in the Sun" and was nominated for another Tony for her 2005 portrayal of Aunt Ester.

The turn-of-the-century "Gem of the Ocean" is the only play in August Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle of dramas about the 20th-century African-American experience that has not yet been produced in Seattle. Wilson resided on Capitol Hill for more than a decade, before his death last year from cancer.

"Gem of the Ocean" will run April 5-May 6, 2007 (details at 206-443-2222 or www.seattlerep.org).

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com