‘Born’ is Winans’ family matter
After siblings BeBe and CeCe Winans joined Jim and Tammy Faye Baker’s “The PTL Club” show, they catapulted to televangical fame, among the first African American stars on the Praise the Lord Television Network. Now a six-time Grammy winner, BeBe Winans has turned their story into the musical “Born for This,” with a book by Charles Randolph-Wright (“Motown the Musical”). Previews begin in Tuesday at the Broad Stage. BeBe Winans spoke to The Times for this edited conversation: Why turn your personal story into a musical?
I had a conversation with a dear friend 10 years ago, one of my icons, Roberta Flack. She said: “BeBe, you’ve got to write that musical about your family.” And I thought: “Did Roberta take her medication?” Four days later it was like a faucet came on and I wrote the first draft. Your nephew and niece, Juan and Deborah Joy Winans, play you and CeCe. How is Juan’s portrayal?
Spot on! It’s funny — in real life, people thought he was my son because he was with me so much. He wanted to be just like me. It’s like: You’ve been learning this role for a long time. “Born for This” played the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Will L.A. be different?
Yes. The run in D.C. was different than the one in Atlanta — different songs as we continue to evolve. There’s different dialogue now. L.A. has one new song, and we got the chance to pull more out of the story. Has success affected your relationship with God?
Well, 85% of our success has been on mainstream R&B radio, and that, at first, was upsetting to the Christian world because we were viewed as heathens. We were looked upon as two individuals who sold out to be successful — that instead of going after God, we went after success, which was untrue. Success built my faith because I had to endure such negativity. Musical influences outside of gospel? Gladys Knight. Divine inter vention, true or false? I think true. When not in church or recording music ... I am sleeping. It’s my favorite pastime. If God had a favorite song? “Let the Sunshine In.”