Announcing BeBe Winans' BORN FOR THIS at The Broad Stage

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents Born for This July 11 through August 6 (press opening on July 20). Kicking off The Broad Stage's 2017-18 Theatre Season, this new musical features original music by six time GRAMMY Award-winning artist BeBe Winans, book by Charles Randolph-Wright and BeBe Winans, and is directed by Randolph-Wright (director of the Broadway and West End runaway hit Motown: The Musical).

In Born for This, Detroit teenagers BeBe and Cece Winans experience the ultimate in culture shock when invited to join Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Praise The Lord Network in Pineville, North Carolina. Jim and Tammy become an unlikely surrogate family as the two teenagers rapidly become the hottest stars in televangical America. Eventually crossing over to mainstream fame, Bebe must learn to reconcile the temptations of fame and fortune with the things he ultimately values more. It's a wildy funny yet emotional journey toward self-discovery.

"I believe the story of our lives can be inspirational to people. In life, there will be people who disagree with your goals - and that's OK. But I didn't give up. It's what I'm still doing, and loving, to this day. I really believe this piece will help people understand that there is a purpose for your life. This isn't just my story. It's everybody's story."

"BeBe Winans writes incredible music and has an equally incredible story to accompany that music," said playwright-director Charles Randolph-Wright. "When he and his sister left Detroit for The Carolinas as teenagers, the ultimate coming of age happened and unlikely friendships developed. People who seemingly had nothing in common found a way first to sing together, then become family. Those unique partnerships changed and moved people - something we need right now."

Leading the cast as BeBe and CeCe are their nephew and niece Juan and Deborah Joy Winans. Juan is singer/songwriter of the GRAMMY-nominated album WE GOT NEXT. His sister Deborah Joy co-stars on OWN's original TV series GREENLEAF.

Also featured are Chaz Pofahl as Jim Bakker and Kirsten Wyatt (Broadway's A Christmas Story The Musical) as Tammy Faye Bakker, as well as Kiandra Richardson as Whitney Houston, and Nita Whitaker (Pasadena Playhouse's Breaking Through) as Mom Winans, Milton Craig Nealy (Broadway's Motown The Musical, Arena's Akeelah and the Bee) as Pop Winans, Dyllon Burnside (Broadway's Holler If Ya Hear Me) as Michael Winans and Howard, Desmond Sean Ellington as Carvin Winans and Alvin, Brad Raymond as Ronald Winans and Michael Stiggers as Marvin Winans.

This production of Born for This at The Broad Stage is produced by Ron Gillyard and My Destiny Productions.

The creative team for Born for This includes Choreographer Warren Adams, Music Supervisor Donald Lawrence, Music Director Steven Jamail, Set Designer Neil Patel, Tony Award-winning Costume Designer William Ivey Long, Lighting Designer Diane Ferry Williams, Sound Designer Jesse Stevens, and Projection Designer John Narun.

Eva Price and Carl Flanigan of Maximum Entertainment serve as the General Managers.

BORN FOR THIS premiered last year at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta and the Arena Stage in Washington, DC

Tickets go on sale at online at www.thebroadstage.com and by calling 310-434-3200.

About Benjamin "BeBe" Winans

Benjamin, "BeBe" Winans, the inspirational R&B and gospel vocalist and six-time GRAMMY Award winner is the seventh child and youngest male of the Detroit based first family of gospel music. Teaming with his younger sister, Priscilla "CeCe", the duo first began crossing lines as "adopted children" of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker on the PTL television show.

BeBe & CeCe are the first true Christian crossover artists to hit the mainstream. They appeared frequently on national television -- from The Arsenio Hall Show to Good Morning America to The Oprah Winfrey Show -- where they have taken their message and presented it in a way that touched, moved and inspired wide audiences. BeBe and CeCe are the first brother and sister to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On their first tour, Whitney Houston sang background for the siblings -- proclaiming herself their "sister" and setting the tone for her own special career.

BeBe & CeCe have nine successful gold and platinum recordings and in 1995 they began to explore their solo endeavors.

Since then, BeBe has become known as an inspirational, R&B, and popular vocalist, songwriter, and producer, renowned as the breakthrough artist to bridge the language of his roots in the church with a chart-topping, award-winning career spanning audiences universally throughout all genres.

Along with his seven solo albums with guest appearances from friends as disparate as Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, David Foster, Anita Baker, best friend Whitney Houston and members of the Winans family, BeBe is known for his jaw dropping performances on some of the most important and star-studded musical specials of the past decades. BeBe, with his sisters, brothers, parents and on his own, has achieved an iconic status with the audiences he has moved and encouraged through the Winans' brand of popular inspirational song.

He is an Executive Music Producer for the OWN Network's latest scripted series, Greenleaf; host of his own radio show on the Heart & Soul Channel (68) on Sirius/XM Radio Networks on Sunday Mornings (9am ET/7am PT); author; actor in motion pictures including friend Denzel Washington's, The Manchurian Candidate; and star of productions like Broadway's Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple; with Chaka Khan amongst his credits.

BeBe Winans has won six GRAMMY Awards (three solo and three with sister Cece Winans), ten Dove Awards, six Stellar Awards, four NAACP Awards (three with CeCe and one with 3WB with brothers Marvin and Carvin) and 3 Soul Train Music Awards (2 of them with sister CeCe).

BeBe Winans is also an Ambassador for Metro World Child, an organization committed to providing hope and building futures for children living in adverse conditions in metropolitan areas around the world.

For more, follow BeBe Winans on Twitter: @TheBeBeWinans, Instagram: @BeBeWinans, Facebook: facebook.com/bebewinans and online at www.BeBeWinans.net.

About Charles Randolph-Wright
Charles Randolph-Wright is a playwright, screenwriter and director. He directed the Broadway and West End mega hit MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL and its national tour. Other theater directing credits include the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Ruined and Sophisticated Ladies at Arena Stage (where he was an inaugural resident playwright), Through The Night at The Geffen and Off Broadway, the 75th Anniversary international tour of Porgy and Bess, Love/Life at Lincoln Center (with Brian Stokes Mitchell), the national tour of Guys and Dolls (starring Maurice Hines), Cabaret Verboten at the Mark Taper Forum (with Bebe Neuwirth and Roger Rees) and the world premieres of the plays Tough Titty, Akeelah and the Bee, and the musical Senor Discretion Himself. Randolph-Wright is the author of the plays Blue (starring Phylica Rashad and Diahann Carroll), The Night is a Child (starring JoBeth Williams), Cuttin' Up, Love in Afghanistan and co-author of Just Between Friends - Bea Arthur on Broadway. He directed the award-winning film Preaching to the Choir, and has written screenplays for HBO, Showtime, Disney and Fox as well as the Showtime series Linc's. For television he has directed Greenleaf, Lincoln Heights, South of Nowhere, the music special America America, and the "Freestyle" football commercial for Nike.

Randolph-Wright started his career as a performer. His credits include the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls as well as Hill Street Blues and Melrose Place among others. He studied acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and dance with the Alvin Ailey School in New York City.

Randolph-Wright's productions have received numerous awards, including NAACP Image, Helen Hayes, Ovation, Audelco as well as Grammy and Tony nominations. He is the recipient of the S.C. Medal of Honor in the Arts, the Creative Spirit Award, The Pasadena Playhouse Theatrical Diversity Award, and the Paul Robeson Award from Actors' Equity. www.Randolph-Wright.com

Juan Winans (BeBe Winans) is a part of the third generation of Winans performers. Son of Carvin Winans, Sr., Juan began performing at the age of 16 when he along with his older brother and two cousins formed the group Winans Phase 2. Collaborating with writers such as Babyface & Rodney Jerkins, their debut album We Got Next went to number one on the Billboard gospel chart and earned Juan a GRAMMY Award nomination. Since then, he has shared his love for performing on stages around the world and has written for artists including Mary Mary, Lalah Hathaway, Joe, Mack Wilds, Michael Bolton, Heavy D, Beth Hart and others. Juan is currently writing for TV and film while finishing up his first solo album.

Deborah Joy Winans (Cece Winans) is delighted to perform alongside her brother, portraying her real-life aunt Cece Winans. She was previously part of the Women of Faith Conference's national tour. She holds a B.F.A. in theater from Wayne State University and an M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, she now splits her time between Atlanta and Los Angeles. Deborah Joy previously portrayed her aunt in the Angela Bassett-directed TV movie Whitney. She currently stars in the OWN family drama series Greenleaf opposite Keith David and Lynn Whitfield.

Chaz Pofahl (Jim Bakker) hails from Charlotte, N.C. Theater credits include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Center For Puppetry Arts); Dracula: The Rock Opera (7 Stages); Avenue Q and Fiddler on the Roof (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); and Coraline, Journey to Oz, Ella's Big Chance, Scrooge, Seussical, And Then They Came for Me, The Borrowers, Macbeth and The Secret Garden (Children's Theatre of Charlotte). Additional credits include The Music Man, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and A Christmas Carol (Temple Theatre); Bat Boy and Dream a Little Dream (Actor's Theatre of Charlotte); Love's Labour's Lost, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing and Julius Caesar (Charlotte Shakespeare Festival); Floyd Collins (Carolina Actors Studio Theatre); and Rent (Theatre Charlotte).

Kirsten Wyatt (Tammy Faye Bakker)'s Broadway credits include Annie, A Christmas Story The Musical, Elf, Shrek, Grease, High Fidelity, The Pajama Game, Urinetown and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Favorite regional credits include Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Agnes Gooch in Mame (Connecticut Critics Circle Award), Charity in Sweet Charity, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Paulette in Legally Blonde and Ellie Mae Chipley in Show Boat. TV credits include "Blue Bloods", "The Naked Brothers Band", "As the World Turns" and "All My Children." She is a proud graduate of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Love to Sean, husband of 13 years.

Kiandra Richardson (Whitney Houston / Sister Jones / Reporter)'s favorite credits include Hair and Urinetown (Savannah College of Art and Design) and Chicago (Macon Little Theater). She recently participated in season 15 of American Idol. She has a B.F.A. in performing arts from SCAD: The University for Creative Careers, and has trained with James Cromwell, Vincent D'Onofrio and Marvin McIntyre. Kiandra recently worked as the lead female singer for EastCoast Entertainment's MVP band based out of Atlanta, Ga.

Maximum Entertainment (General Management) is a producing, developing and management company founded by Avram Freedberg, Mary Beth Dale and Eva Price; and is joined by Managing Director/General Manager Carl Flanigan. Select credits on Broadway, Off-Broadway and on tour include Cruel Intentions - The Musical; Small Mouth Sounds; Carefree: Dancin' With Fred & Ginger; Verso; The Lion; The Hip Hop Nutcracker; 50 Shades! The Musical; Ivy + Bean the Musical; VocaPeople; Colin Quinn: Long Story Short. www.MaximumCompany.com

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