Alfre Woodard has signed on to star in “Juanita,” an indie drama based on Sheila Williams’ 2002 novel “Dancing on the Edge of the Roof,” Variety reports. The “Luke Cage” actress is also among the project’s executive producers.
Scheduled to begin production next week in Virginia, “Juanita” sees the four-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee playing “a hard-working nursemaid, living in Columbus, Ohio, whose grown kids still depend on her for everything,” the source summarizes. “[Blair] Underwood appears as himself as a fantasy in her dreams — and when he asks for a loan, she hops on a Greyhound Bus and heads into the mountains of Montana, where she reinvents herself with a new job, a new circle of friends, and an unexpected new love.”
The film is directed by Clark Johnson (“S.W.A.T.”) and written by Roderick Spencer. Mel Jones and Homegrown Pictures’ Stephanie Allain are among the project’s executive producers.
Woodard’s recent credits include “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Captain America: Civil War,” and “State of Affairs,” the latter of which saw the actress playing the first prominent black female president in film and TV history.
