"The Journey is a 21st century rendition of the classic tale "The Wizard of Oz." Similar to "The Wizard of Oz," we are all on life's journey and we can either get off at the nearest exit or we can choose to reach our destination regardless of all the rainy days, detours and many potholes.

Gabrielle was born to create, produce and perform. A native of Hartford, Connecticut Gabrielle introduced her talent to the world around the age of nine. She remembers always forming some type of neighborhood group to perform her plays. She would get a group of her friends together to do fashion shows and area talent shows but her community theatrical productions were her most poignant and impressive. "I remember staying up one night with two of my girlfriends reading one of my scripts that my friend still talks about today", laughs Gabrielle.

Gabrielle's natural inclination was for the performing arts. She went on to study writing and theater while at Emerson College in Boston. Gabrielle dreamed of writing, directing and starring in movies and television projects. In her senior year of college she was in an advanced scriptwriting class. The assignment for the class was to write and finish a two-hour pilot, which she eagerly did. Her script was a soap opera complete with unconventional African American characters, fascinating plots and startling revelations. After turning in her script at the end of the semester, her professor's objectionable critique of the wealth of the black characters portrayed in the script was not only unfavorable, but would prove to be a major turning point in her life.

She explains, "I have been writing murder mysteries and whodunits for as long as I can remember. The soap opera I wrote in college was actually a love story. I write to entertain, but, more importantly, I write to bring people a message of hope."

Courage and determination saw her through the debut of her first major stage production. Courage and determination continue to be the characteristics she relies on through her own personal life challenges as The Journey approaches its seventh year. Gabrielle Johnson epitomizes integrity, valor and resilience with this Off Broadway production. And, as she continues to write and produce scripts, Gabrielle Johnson will be the theater circuit's next big thing!