Garden State Film Festival - Interview with Joanna Gleason

And the result is the 72-year-old has written and directed her first feature film, "The Grotto," a moving look at loss, healing and identity, set amid the backdrop of a struggling gay nightclub in the California desert.

"The Grotto," which has picked up awards at the Heartland International Film Festival and the Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival, plays the Garden State Film Festival on Saturday at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park.

Gleason has a storied history in the entertainment world, from her Tony Award-winning performance originating The Baker's Wife in Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" on Broadway to film roles in “Boogie Nights,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” as well as television roles in “The Good Fight,” “The Affair” and “The West Wing."

The story of "The Grotto" grew out of a challenging period in Gleason's own life.

Centering on a 40-something woman who from the outside appears to have it all before watching it slip away, much of the genesis sprung from Gleason realizing that she was not where she wanted to be in life.

" ... A marriage ended, there were some great losses. I was unsteady economically," she said. "And I thought, I have this notion of myself based on what other people thought or expected of me, and now it's now or never. Why don't you figure out what and who you want to be."

"The Grotto" started life as a novel before being tucked away in a drawer for years. When she made the decision to pursue it as a film, people responded to the script.

"They never thought twice about my wanting to direct it," she said. "It just came together like a miracle."

Theater fans will notice familiar faces among the film's cast, including Steve Kazee, Lindsay Mendez and Kevin Chamberlin.

Go: Garden State Film Festival, through Sunday, March 26, venues throughout Asbury Park. Select events also take place in the Ocean Grove area of Neptune, as well as in Cranford and Ocean Township; gsff.org