Rachel Elise Johnson Tapped As Festival Artistic Producer For Allen And Gray Musical Festival

Award winning musical theater writers Richard Allen and Taran Gray announce that Rachel Elise Johnson will take on the role of being Festival Artistic Producer for the Allen and Gray Musical Festival.

"Rachel has been with us since the start of our Festival run earlier this year." says Festival co-creator Taran Gray. "She played a pivotal role in the success of our Festival and we're thrilled to have her step into this role as we look forward to the next steps."

The Allen and Gray Musical Festival first launched in July 2020 with the mission of amplifying marginalized voices in musical

theater. The Festival had a successful 4 musical run (all performed online) and raised a total of $12,000 for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA). The success was made possible through the inclusion of over 60 actors and crew members, all giving their time as a donation in order to raise money for BC/EFA.

"I am beyond excited to expand this Festival and provide a platform for marginalized voices." says Rachel. "Musical performance has great power and influence. We need new works that reflect the experiences and thoughts of those in our community who are often silenced or ignored. This Festival is an opportunity to highlight those voices. It's a chance to push boundaries and allow new voices to be heard."

The Allen and Gray Musical Festival is currently looking for musicals for its 2021 season. Applicants can submit their written material at www.allenandgray.com.

Rachel Elise Johnson is the Festival Artistic Producer and an Associate Producer with Allen & Gray in addition to producing the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival and her position as Executive Director with Underscore Theatre Company. Her most recent directing credits include Festival Director for LEGENDARY (Allen & Gray Musical Festival 2020) as well as co-director of THE LAST FIVE YEARS (JPAC) and CARRIE 2: THE RAGE (Underscore Theatre Company) with Isaac Loomer. Rachel lives in Chicago and is a math professor at Harry S Truman College and DePaul University.

Allen and Gray are award winning musical theater writers with a bent on social justice and reform. With a penchant for historical accuracy, they created FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical about the 1961 Freedom Rides, BAYARD: A New Musical about Bayard Rustin's creation of the 1963 March on Washington, and WALT AND ROY about Walt and Roy Disney's startup of the Disney empire in the 1920's and 1930's. Their newest musical, LEGENDARY, is an original story dealing with the silencing women face in the music industry.

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