Reviewed by Tracey Conyer Lee
THIS AIN'T “MOTOWN”
I can't lie. After Googling the theatrical events available to me during my week on tour in Atlanta, I was wholly disappointed to find The Alliance Theatre's "Born For This" was the only major production on the boards when I wasn't working myself. The Charles Randolph-Wright helmed musical biopic chronicles the beginnings of the careers of gospel duo BeBe & CeCe Winans.
Now...
I was a decided BeBe & CeCe fan during their late 80s/early 90s heyday when they had “crossed over” and made get-right songs in a style that we heathens couldn't resist. I am a child of God, but be clear, those unmistakable voices are what pulled dollars out of my pocket for cassette tapes and concert tickets. I assumed "Born For This" would offer up some SANGIN' but I also assumed it'd be bestrewn with horribly-written sketches of already-known-about or not-at-all-play-worthy information that often undermines the “jukebox musical.” And plagues a Black one. We already know we need to be better than “they” to succeed. For every "Motown" (the very type of theater I was describing above) we watch open then close, “they” watch "Beautiful" and "Jersey Boys" run for years on end. Our stories are worthy of more than being sung sublimely and danced to perfection, they deserve to be told with excellent crafting and groomed with unapologetic care for the art, not the ego. Ironically, ego is one of the themes of "Born For This." Yup. There are themes.
So...
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| Image Sourced by the Alliance Theatre |
I was prepared to be underwhelmed and salty only to leave hopeful and proud. "Born For This" isn't just a concert with some trite anecdotes dropped in around it. It's a play. It isn't a revolutionary play. It's not especially innovative or groundbreaking. What it is is an expertly performed, solidly crafted story about siblings I thought I knew...but didn't. This ain't no "Motown." It's what "Motown" wanted to be and should have been, but wasn't. Mr. Randolph-Wright, who co-wrote with BeBe Winans, happened to be in the house for the performance I saw and I told him so. Was he insulted (having also helmed "Motown")? Maybe. But since Berry Gordy's egomaniacal yearnings to tell his story his way were the well-known downfall of "Motown," it is my hope that Mr. Randolph-Wright heard me saying “had you the power to truly collaborate with Mr. Gordy (as it seems he had with novice playwright Winans), maybe "Motown" would still be running, out-selling Carole King and Frankie Valli.”
What I most appreciated about "Born For This" is that instead of trying to cram the lengthy careers of the huge Winans clan into one sparse story, they focused on BeBe & CeCe's enduring relationship with "Praise The Lord" (PTL) televangelist icons Jim and Tammi Faye Bakker (played by Chaz Pofahl and Kirsten Wyatt) to highly entertaining and truly enlightening effect. Later, I Youtubed all four of them for two additional hours because what I learned in the play really “Change(d) My Nature.” (See what I did there?) It's the story we weren't told in the tabloids and scandalous media coverage.
The cast is unanimously gifted. Aside from some questionable interpretive dance moments that I hope gets cut, their charge is a lofty one and there are no weak links. Led by BeBe & CeCe's niece and nephew, real-life siblings Juan and Deborah Joy Winans, the entire company will join the remount at DC's Arena Stage in July and August. It's mesmerizing to watch the next generation tell their family story in this way, but as beautiful as their voices are (and they are awesome singers), don't count on hearing the identifiably fierce clarinet-trombone-like blend that makes BeBe & CeCe's sound so signature. You can go home after the show and dust off your “Different Lifestyles” album. You're welcome. Again, not brain surgery, but if you want to be entertained and have a little hope for the jukebox biopic format, get you a Boltbus down to DC and check out "Born For This."
Born For This: The Bebe Winans Story. Book, Music & Lyrics by Benjamin "BeBe" Winans. Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright. Costume Design: William Ivey Long. Set Design: Neil Patel. Choreographer: Warren Adams. Musical Director and Player/Conductor: Steven Jamail. Projection Design: John Narun. Sound Design: Jesse Stevens. Stage Manager: Bret Torbeck. At Alliance Theatre . Atlanta, GA. Ran from April 13 to May 15, 2016.
