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Lifetime’s biopic Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia stars Danielle Brooks in the story of gospel icon Mahalia Jackson and her journey to becaming one of the most revered singers in American history. She also melded her music to the civil rights movement — she stood with Martin Luther King Jr at the March on Washington where she performed in hopes her music would encourage and inspire racial equality.

Jason Dirden, Olivia Washington, Rob Demery and Joaquina Kalukango star in the film alongside Brooks, the Orange Is the New Black alum who scored a Tony nom for The Color Purple. She was approached for Mahalia by Kenny Leon, who had previously worked with Brooks on the stage production of Much Ado About Nothing.

The script, from Bessie writer Bettina Gilois (Bessie Smith was an early Mahalia influence) and first-time feature scribe Todd Kreidler, is the latest installment of Deadline’s It Starts...

The upcoming biopic “Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia Jackson” — the first project produced under a partnership between “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts and Lifetime, which was inked in 2018 — is a fictionalized retelling of 40 years in the life of one of the greatest gospel singers of all time, dubbed the “Queen of Gospel.” Co-produced by Roberts’ Rock’n Robin shingle, the much-anticipated TV movie stars Tony Award nominee, SAG, and Grammy Award winning actress Danielle Brooks (“Orange is the New Black”) as the legend and civil rights trailblazer, and is directed by Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon (“Fences”).

It marks a creative reunion of Brooks and Leon after previously working together on an all-Black contemporary production of “Much Ado About Nothing” for the Shakespeare in the Park series at the Public Theater in New York City. This pleasure derived from that experience made Brooks comfortable under Leon’s direction once again.

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As we are now about halfway through the Broadway season, and there are currently 12 productions of plays set to open this spring. Could we be seeing any of them contend at this year’s Tony Awards? Below, we recap the plot of each play as well as the awards history of its author, cast, creative types, the opening, and (where applicable) closing dates.

“My Name is Lucy Barton” (opens January 15; closes February 29)

In this stage adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s 2016 novel of the same name, the story follows the title character, who, unsteady after an operation, awakens to find her mother sitting at the foot of her bed. She hasn’t seen her in years, and her visit brings Lucy back to her desperate rural childhood and her escape to New York. As she begins to find herself as a writer, she is still gripped by the urgent complexities of family life.

Roundabout Theatre Company will soon present the first Broadway production of Charles Fuller's award-winning drama A Soldier's Play, directed by Kenny Leon. A Soldier's Play will star David Alan Grier as 'Sergeant Vernon C. Waters,' Blair Underwood as 'Captain Richard Davenport,' Nnamdi Asomugha as 'Private First Class Melvin Peterson,' Jerry O'Connell as 'Captain Charles Taylor,' McKinley Belcher III as 'Private Louis Henson,' Rob Demery as 'Corporal Bernard Cobb,' Jared Grimes as 'Private Tony Smalls,' Billy Eugene Jones as 'Private James Wilkie,' Nate Mann as 'Lieutenant Byrd,' Warner Miller as 'Corporal Ellis,' J. Alphonse Nicholson as 'Private C. J. Memphis' and Lee Aaron Rosen as 'Captain Wilcox.'...

Roundabout Theatre Companywill soon presentthe first Broadway production of Charles Fuller's award-winning drama A Soldier's Play, directed by Kenny Leon. A Soldier's Play will starDavid Alan Grier as 'Sergeant Vernon C. Waters,' Blair Underwood as 'Captain Richard Davenport,'Nnamdi Asomugha as 'Private First Class Melvin Peterson,' Jerry O'Connell as 'Captain Charles Taylor,' McKinley Belcher III as 'Private Louis Henson,' Rob Demery as 'Corporal Bernard Cobb,' Jared Grimes as 'Private Tony Smalls,' Billy Eugene Jones as 'Private James Wilkie,' Nate Mann as 'Lieutenant Byrd,' Warner Miller as 'Corporal Ellis,' J. Alphonse Nicholson as 'Private C. J. Memphis' and Lee Aaron Rosen as 'Captain Wilcox.'...

Broadway’s upcoming production of Charles Fullers’ A Soldier’s Play starring David Alan Grier and Blair Underwood has rounded out the 12-member cast, with Jerry O’Connell, Namdi Asomugha and Billy Eugene Jones among the new recruits.

The announcement was made by producer The Roundabout Theatre Company.

The casting comes none too soon – preview performances begin at the American Airlines Theatre Dec. 27, with an official opening night of Jan. 21. The limited engagement, with Kenny Leon directing, will mark the first Broadway staging of the acclaimed play, which premiered Off Broadway at the Negro Ensemble Company in 1981.

Joining the previously announced Grier and Underwood are Nnamdi Asomugha as “Private First Class Melvin Peterson,” Jerry O’Connell as “Captain Charles Taylor,” McKinley Belcher III as “Private Louis Henson,” Rob Demery as “Corporal Bernard Cobb,” Jared Grimes as “Private Tony Smalls,” Billy Eugene Jones as “Private James Wilkie,” Nate Mann as “Lieutenant Byrd,...