The Event: Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s salute to Women in the Arts brought Emmy and Obie award-winning actor and charter member, Laurie Metcalf, to Chicago’s Standard Club on March 9.

The annual event attracted 300 leaders from Chicago’s business and civic communities to raise funds for Steppenwolf’s professional development programs; Steppenwolf for Young Adults and the School at Steppenwolf.

Cause célèbre: Introducing Metcalf was another charter theater member, Jeff Perry (“Scandal”). Originally of Highland Park, Perry also happens to be Metcalf’s ex-husband.

“(In acting) you’ve got to figure out what you’re saying and then you’ve got to mean it. Laurie’s intelligence and her love of this art - she always honors the story; she always tries to figure out ‘how is this person built?’ And then she means it to the degree that leaves us breathless,” said Perry.

Metcalf said she still considers herself a theatrical actor first, “Because that’s how I came up.”

And host committee member and trustee, Stephanie Smith of Wilmette, described live theater as ‘part of the public square.’ “It reflects what we are experiencing in society, provokes thinking about what we are going through and it’s a way of gathering people from all walks of life to have a great discussion about what counts.”

Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America’s longest-standing ensemble theater. Its 44 actors, writers and directors produce nearly 700 performances and events within its three Chicago theater spaces annually.

“I believe in the power of theater to connect people and to show different viewpoints and opinions about the world and increase our empathy, which is an important part of being a citizen and a member of society,” said Madeline Long of Chicago, communications director.

Bottom Line: The event raised $175,000 for Steppenwolf's educational and artistic endeavors.