Lifetime have added to their partnership with Robin Roberts for four new movies under the Robin Roberts Presents banner. On the heels of the highly successful movie, The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel which was seen by over 13 million viewers, the network greenlights their next foray into the gospel music world with the biopic “Robin Roberts Presents: The Mahalia Jackson Story.”
Kenny Leon is set to direct and actress and singer Danielle Brooks of “Orange is the New Black”will star as gospel legend and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson. This also marks as a reunion for Leon and Brooks who worked together on the stage production of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
Born in New Orleans, Mahalia began singing at an early age and went on to become one of the most revered gospel figures in U.S. history, melding her music with the civil rights movement. Her recording of the song “Move on Up a Little Higher” sold millions of copies, skyrocketing her to international fame and gave her the opportunity to perform at diverse settings including in front of a racially integrated audience at the prestigious Carnegie Hall and at John F. Kennedy’s inaugural ball. An active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, Jackson sang at numerous rallies, including the March on Washington in 1963 alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in hopes that her music would encourage and inspire racial equality. From Rock’n Robin Productions and Lincoln Square Productions, The Mahalia Jackson Story is executive produced by Robin Roberts and Linda Berman.
