Joanna Gleason Will Make Writing & Directing Debut With New Film THE GROTTO

Tony Award-winning actress Joanna Gleason is set to make her feature film writing and directing debut with The Grotto, which will begin production later this month. Casting will be announced within the coming weeks.

Deadline reports that the film is "a story where grief, laughter and music bring about small miracles." The plot follows the 40-something-year-old widow Alice, as she uncovers her recently deceased fiancé's secret past after inheriting part ownership of a forgotten nightclub in the Mojave Desert.

"As the reality of the pandemic dawned, I found myself in a state of high anxiety and a shared world grief. How to feel like life could move forward? Writing/directing this film was the answer for me," Gleason said in a statement. "I wanted to continue to push myself creatively, tell a story on screen and join other women who have discovered their 'second acts."

Joanna Gleason won the Tony Award for Best Actress for her role as the Baker's Wife in Sondheim's "Into the Woods." She also won a Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for the same performance. She received another Tony nomination and a Drama Desk nomination for her work in "Joe Egg." Joanna won a Theater World Award for "The Real Thing," and another Drama Desk award for "Social Security." She is also known for her television roles in shows such as Friends, The West Wing, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, The Affair, The Newsroom, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Photo Credit: Michael Crook