Tony Winner Cynthia Erivo Will Star in a Harriet Tubman Biopic

Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo has been tapped to star in an upcoming Harriet Tubman biopic. Seith Mann will direct the film, which will feature a screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard, according to Deadline.

The film, titled Harriet, will explore the life of the famed black abolitionist and humanitarian who escaped slavery in the South, became a spy for the Union and paved the way for several others to be freed through the Underground Railroad. Plans for the project were first announced in May 2016.

Erivo received a Tony last year for her Broadway debut as Celie in The Color Purple, having first taken on the role at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory. Her additional stage credits include I Can’t Sing! and Sister Act in the U.K. She is also set to star opposite Viola Davis and Jitney’s André Holland in the Steve McQueen-helmed film Widows.

In October, Erivo sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”—an anthem that was first written to encourage resilience in the Union during the Civil War—at Stronger Together, a benefit for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign featuring members of the Broadway community. Take a look at an all-too-brief clip below.