R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Aretha Franklin Wants Her Life Story on Broadway; Could Audra McDonald Star?

This has made us "Think!" Aretha Franklin wants her life story on Broadway. "I would like to see it be a dramatic musical," the Queen of Soul told Billboard. "I loved the Motown musical; it was so great. I think the timing is very good now, especially behind Jersey Boys, Carole King." She added, "Gloria Estefan has come to Broadway now and why not Aretha?"

Franklin has already talked to actress-director Marsha Mason about collaborating on the project, who is apparently "very amenable and would love to do it." Mason has appeared in multiple productions on the Great White Way including Impressionism, Steel Magnolias and The Night of the Iguana; a four-time Oscar nominee, she was married for ten years to the Tony-winning playwright Neil Simon.

No word yet on who Franklin would like to play her on the stage. A Lifetime biopic of the Queen of Soul has been long-in-the-works and the star has previously spoken about how both the Broadway-bound Jennifer Hudson and six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald are top of the list to portray her.