New York City
BeBe Winans and his ensemble will preview the new musical at Feinstein’s/54 Below.
Grammy Award-winning recording artist Stephanie Mills will join BeBe Winans and the cast of the new musical Born for This for their two concert performances on Monday, November 5, at Feinstein's/54 Below. The performances will be held at 7pm and 9:30pm.
Mills is best known on Broadway as Dorothy in the original 1975 production of The Wiz. She has recorded five best-selling albums with hit records such as "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," "Home," and "Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'." Mills's 2004 album Born for This featured her rendition of the title track.
Sharing the Feinstein's/54 Below stage with Winans and Mills will be director Charles Randolph-Wright, as well as cast members from last summer's pre-Broadway tryout in Boston including Maddie Shea Baldwin, Liisi LaFontaine, Loren Lott, Donald Webber Jr., Kirsten Wyatt, and Nita Whitaker. The evening will introduce the story of Born for This and some of the original songs from the musical, which also played regional engagements in Atlanta, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.
Born for This follows BeBe, a talented young man from a tight-knit musical family as he grapples with the struggle between his faith and his desire for fame. As teenagers BeBe and his sister CeCe, experience genuine culture shock when they leave the comfort of their home and family in Detroit to join Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's "Praise the Lord" network in North Carolina. When the duo rocket to fame, the seductive lure of celebrity comes knocking. Ultimately, Bebe must reconcile the temptations of stardom and fortune with the things he values most in life.
Born for This features original music and lyrics by six-time Grammy Award winner BeBe Winans, with a book written by Charles Randolph-Wright, BeBe Winans, and Lisa D'Amour. The show is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, with choreography by Warren Adams, and is produced by Ron Gillyard and My Destiny Productions.