Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett may be taking her acting chops to the stage to join Samuel L. Jackson  in the Broadway premiere of Katori Hall’s critically acclaimed The Mountaintop.

Bassett is currently in negotiations to play the mysterious maid  “Camae” opposite Jackson’s Martin Luther King Jr., the New York Post reports. The story takes place on April 3, 1968, the eve of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. After delivering his legendary “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, King retires to his room where he encounters a hotel maid and is “forced to confront his past, as well as his legacy to his people,” according to press notes.

Halle Berry was originally confirmed to star in the production, but had to drop out due to her “child custody issues.” It would’ve been Berry’s first role on Broadway.

Opening night is scheduled for October 13.

(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)