It was announced this week that Broadway actress Cynthia Erivo will star in the lead role of the biographical film Harriet, which will follow the events of the life of Harriet Tubman.

The film will be directed by Seith Mann, known for directing episodes of tv series such as The Wire, Grey’s Anatomy and Fringe. The script will be written by Gregory Allen Howard, most well-known for writing the Disney film Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington. MACRO, the production company behind Denzel Washington’s Fences, as well as this year’s Sundance favorite Mudbound, is producing the biopic.

Erivo recently won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in The Color Purple and will be seen in Steve McQueen’s upcoming film Widows with Viola Davis (Fences) and Andre Holland (Moonlight). A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Erivo has many stage credits to her name including the UK touring production of Sister Act.