Joel Drake Johnson's THE FALL TO EARTH Opens 2/11 at Odyssey Theatre

JoBeth Williams stars in Chicago playwright Joel Drake Johnson's THE FALL TO EARTH at the Odyssey Theatre.

JOEL DRAKE JOHNSON (Playwright) is a Chicago playwright and teacher who got his start as a writer at Chicago's critically acclaimed Econo-Art Theater which produced five of his plays. Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater also produced five of Johnson's plays including Four Places and The Boys Room. Four Places was subsequently produced in LA by The Rogue Machine Theatre, where under the direction of Robin Larsen, it garnered more critical acclaim that included five Ovation Award nominations, four nominations (including best play) from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and a Garland Award for Best New Play. It was recently produced off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatre in NYC. Johnson has won three Illinois Arts Council grants including one for A Blue Moon , As the Beaver, and The Fall to Earth which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre. The Aurora Theatre produced The First Grade which won the San Francisco/ Bay Area Critic Circle Award for best new play of 2010-11. Johnson has been commissioned three times by Steppenwolf Theatre which led to productions of A Blameless Life and Tranquillity Woods. He lives in Chicago and New Buffalo, Michigan where he is working on two new plays called Rasheeda Speaking and 22 Mistakes.

ROBIN LARSEN (Director) Los Angeles Theatre: Blackbird, West Coast Premiere by David Harrower, Rogue Machine Theatre (LA Times Best in Theater 2011, LA Weekly Top Ten Theater Experiences of 2011); Pursued By Happiness, World Premiere by Keith Huff, The Road Theatre Company; Four Places by Joel Drake Johnson, Rogue Machine Theatre (Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award, Backstage Garland Award for Best Production); Tryst, Black Dahlia Theatre (five Ovation Nominations including Best Production and Best Director, three LA Weekly Theater Awards including Best Play, two Backstage Garland Awards including Best Director); An Infinite Ache, by David Schulner, Black Dahlia Theatre (twelve Los Angeles Press awards and nominations, including Production of the Year). Following her acting training at Southern Methodist University, Robin earned her MFA in Film Directing/Production from UCLA.

ROXAnne Hart (Co-Producer) After three years of producing the very successful writers series Rant and Rave at Rogue Machine, Roxanne decided to try her hand at producing a play. The Fall To Earth is a collaborative effort that came about after Roxanne played in Joel Drake Johnson's lauded and award winning production of Four Places (Ovation nomination, Best Actress) directed by Robin Larsen. A veteran of such series as "Hung," "Medium" and "Chicago Hope," her film work includes: Pacino's "Wilde Salome," " Letters From Iwo Jima," "Highlander" and "The Verdict" among others. She has been in many many plays over the years both in Los Angeles and On and Off Broadway garnering a Tony nomination, A Drama-Logue award and a Theater World Award.

JoBeth Williams (Fay Schorsch) Films: Starred in "Poltergeist" (1 & 2), "The Big Chill," "Switch," "Fever Pitch," "Teachers," " Stir Crazy," "Kramer Vs. Kramer," "American Dreamer," "The Big Year," and others. Television: Emmy nominations for "Adam," " Baby M," "Frasier." Starred in series "The Client", "Payne" (opposite John Larouqette.) Recurring on "Private Practice," " Dexter," "Hart of Dixie," and others. Theatre: New York: Body Awareness (Atlantic Theatre), Last Dance (world premiere MTC), John Guare's Gardenia (world premiere MTC), Moonchildren, A Coupla White Chicks, Ladyhouse Blues, The Vagina Monologues. Los Angeles: The Quality of Life (Geffen) Backstage Garland Award, and LACC nomination, The Night is a Child (Pasadena Playhouse). Regional: Antony and Cleopatra (Old Globe), Idiot's Delight (Kennedy Center), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (McCarter), Threepenny Opera (Williamstown), Arena Stage, Trinity Repertory Company, and others. Two Golden globe nominations and an Oscar nomination.

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