BWW Exclusive: Aretha Franklin Would 'Love' to Star in a Broadway Show

Music legend Aretha Franklin was in attendence at the special launch of Mowtown: The Musical last night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, and she told BroadwayWorld exclusively that she'd like to make her way to the Great White Way. When asked by Richard Ridge whether she'd like to star in a Broadway show, the songstress replied: "I would love to, sure. I would love to."

Franklin is a cultural icon and multi-award winning artist with dozens of chart-topping records and timeless classics hits such as “Respect”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Think”, “Daydreaming” and “Free Of Love”. Franklin has been the recipient of a 2005 Presidential Medal Of Freedom honor (the U.S.A.'s highest honor), 17 Grammy Awards (and counting), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Living Legend Award. She has received countless international and national awards and accolades.

She has achieved global recognition on an unprecedented scale. She has influenced generations of singers from Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole and Mary J. Blige to American Idol winner Fantasia Burrino and Oscar- winning Jennifer Hudson. Her ever-distinctive soulful, to-the-bone vocal style has graced the music charts for over four decades and while her 'live' performances have touched the hearts of literally millions since she began her musical journey as a gospel-singing child prodigy, it is her rich legacy of recordings that are a testament to the power, majesty and genius of this one-of-a-kind artist of the first order.