Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason (Into the Woods)'s film directorial debut, The Grotto, hits select movie theatres October 18. Gleason also penned the screenplay for the film, which includes some fellow Broadway stars in the cast. Watch the first trailer above. 

The cast includes Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal, Hacks), Jonathan Del Arco (The Closer, Star Trek: Picard), Steve Kazee (Once), Susan Sullivan (Castle), Miguel Sandoval (Do the Right Thing, Jurassic Park), Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Michael Nouri (Yellowstone), Amy Aquino (Working Girl, Picket Fences), Lindsay Mendez (Merrily We Roll Along, Wicked), and Kevin Chamberlin (Dirty Blonde, Seussical).

The "coming-of-middle-age" story follows Alice Kendall (Brandt), who unexpectedly inherits half-ownership of a failing desert nightclub after the loss of her fiancé. With a newfound friend (Bucatinsky) and the nightclub's co-owner (Del Arco), she ventures into the desert and begins to unravel the secrets of her late fiancé's past. 

Gleason originated the role of The Baker's Wife in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, and received a Tony Award for her performance. Gleason's previous screen directing credits include episodes of Oh Baby, The Louie Show, and Love & War. For the stage, she directed MCC Theater's A Letter From Ethel Kennedy in 2002.

Nova Vento Entertainment is handling The Grotto's theatrical release, while FLMKR will release the film on digital platforms beginning later this year.