Deborah Joy Winans
Secrets, lies, a cheating husband, a closeted brother-in-law, speculation of financial improprieties, and so much more are at the root of Greenleaf, the new breakout hit family drama on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN.
Grace Greenleaf (Merle Dandridge) returns home after 20 years away to attend the funeral of her sister Faith, who commits suicide and it’s far from a perfect family reunion. When her mother, Lady Mae, played by (Lynn Whitfield), expresses sorrow over losing her daughter, the drama ensues. “You didn’t lose my sister, Momma, you gave her away!”
Deborah Joy Winans plays Charity Greenleaf-Shatterlee, the youngest and overlooked sibling who is constantly seeking to prove herself and be seen. She has been blessed with the gift of song, and the voice of an angel. Winans absolutely shines in the role, perhaps because it’s familiar territory. Deborah Joy is a member of the world famous Winans family. She is the daughter of Carvin Winans, and the niece of gospel singing sensations, BeBe and CeCe Winans
In addition to starring in Greenleaf, she is also currently starring as her aunt CeCe in “Born For This: The BeBe Winans Story”, a musical about the life and career of her uncle. She is absolutely phenomenal in the role, which allows her to both sing and act. Most people would probably take for granted that having grown up in such a musical family, Deborah Joy always wanted to sing. “People assume that because I’m a Winans that I sing all the time, but that is so not the case”, she states. “Singing has never been my passion. I’ve always loved acting. I wasn’t opposed to singing, but it wasn’t an aspiration of mine. I got my BFA at Wayne State, and then I went to the California Institute of the Arts to get my MFA. So when this opportunity came along, I was like, ‘I think I can do it, but I haven’t spent time working on that.’ So it was fun; challenging, but fun.
She says that at first, singing was a concern for her, but her uncle BeBe knew she was right for the role. While working through the musical’s many evolutions, BeBe said he witnessed Deborah Joy’s brother Juan, who portrays him in the play, lift up his younger sister’s confidence as a singer, while she helped him strengthen his acting. “The parallels are amazing, says BeBe. I say amazing because it was the same with me and my sister. I always had to build up her confidence. Even today, she still looks at me to find that comfort zone.”
Well, Deborah Joy definitely found her comfort zone, because she nailed the role of CeCe in the play. It’s not hard to see why she was a natural choice for the part. “It wasn’t hard for me to play her because I know her. Our family is very close. There were some things my uncle would point out that I would do in my process that I wouldn’t even know that I was doing that were uncanny in the resemblance, but it really is just a DNA thing.” However, she is also quick to say, “It’s a great gift that God has given my family, but with any gift you have to work at it.” “Born For This: The BeBe Winans Story”, is a wonderful production that will make you laugh, cry, praise and shout.
Deborah Joy says she was doing a workshop in New York, and Oprah came to see her. “She reached out and said she believed in me for the role of Charity. It was huge the moment I found out about it. I knew it would be so big. I’m sure it will be bigger than what I still think now. I’m just overwhelmingly grateful for this opportunity. I really thank God for her. It is truly a blessing”, says Winans.
“This is a tough business, and for a while I was wondering if I had made the right career choice. I wondered if I was following the right path. It was a struggle for a few years. It was hard to get an agent…to get that break.” Deborah Joy says that’s when she prayed and asked God to lead her where he would have her to go. “That’s when Ms. Winfrey called me.”
Deborah Joy says she loves this role, and when asked about the obvious parallels and similarities between her and her character Charity, she laughs. “Yes, there are many similarities. I grew up in the church, and come from a large family. I love God and I love worship. My character has been married for three years. I’ve been married four.” Ironically, the similarities don’t end there. “We are very similar because in the beginning you’ll see she doesn’t just want to sing, she wants to do more and I actually never wanted to sing, which in my family is rare. I always loved acting, and that’s what I wanted to do.”
For someone who never had aspirations to sing, she admits “It’s funny that my first big role is a role where I’m going into a studio to record my singing”, she laughs. “So, I think we’re similar in the fact that, yes, we have this gift, but it’s not necessarily what we want to do, we want to focus on other things. We are also both from very big families where you don’t always feel seen, you always feel loved, but maybe not always very visible. That’s totally what Charity goes through- she feels very invisible. And that only intensifies when her sister comes back and she feels more forgotten, so she’s trying to press her way through and figure out how she can be valued.”
The same was true when playing the role of her aunt CeCe in “Born For This: The BeBe Winans Story”, she had to once again call upon her gift of song, that she was intent on not using for the role in Greenleaf. “I told God, OK, I’m not going to sing, I’m going to act. And then the two big things I get to work on involve singing. Clearly, the Lord had other plans” she said. “Charity sings and she loves the Lord. She grew up in a church family and is essentially who I am…that sounded great to me” said Winans, “It’s not too close to home. It’s a blessing to do something that I already know and that I already love. It just made it a lot more real for me.”
When asked about the inevitable comparisons between Greenleaf and Empire, Deborah Joy readily explains, “Greenleaf is nothing like Empire. I think Empire stands alone in what they are doing. It’s a wonderful show. The only thing that is similar though is that they are black families. The shows in and of themselves have very different dynamics. They are not the same at all”. When speaking about the core premise of one show versus another, she eloquently says, “There’s no reason why they both can’t exist in the TV world. Greenleaf is about family, but also about faith, and failure and real human life. It’s about how in order for them to get through this life and these failures they have to find the faith that they started with. It’s very different. People shouldn’t try and compare these shows at all. They are both very well done, very well written, and very, very different. There’s a little bit of music in Greenleaf, but music is the thread that holds Empire together.”
Speaking of music, Winans admits that when she sang for the first time on set, the director told her, “You’re really at home here.” With a bit of candor, Deborah Joy shares an incident from her past that stuck with her. “Once a while back, I had a role where I had to sing. I wasn’t worried, and felt confident enough. I knew I could carry a tune and hold a note. But, just before I was to open my mouth to sing, a woman came up to me and said, “Ooh, I bet you sound just like CeCe. I froze, and I thought “Maybe I should go back and really take this seriously.”
“The choir moments are the most moving because as I speak about my own character, Charity, that’s the only place where she feels free. She relies upon that relationship with the Lord. For Charity, she feels incredibly underappreciated, and during worship she feels free. And the worship part of service has always been my favorite part as well because you really can free yourself and be ready for the word that God has for you. I think it’s easy to be moved because the characters are the most moved. There’s nothing inhibiting about that place (the church) in the show.”
She goes on to say that the way faith is portrayed in Greenleaf is also key. “The choir moments are very true and freeing, and we are glad that they can move the audience. I agree that it’s great the show celebrates this faith since that isn’t done a lot right now in media, and the creator makes it important that the show never shames it. We never wanted to make anyone feel bad about their faith.”
Winans wants potential viewers to know that “Greenleaf” is a not a commentary on the black church. “People have been wondering if the church is going to like it but it’s not about that,” she said. “The church is the backdrop but this is a dynamic show and it’s about family. It’s a dysfunctional black family that happens to be in a megachurch.”
When asked about what we can expect from Greenleaf, and her character, she says, “I can’t give much away, but the character definitely evolves. In the beginning she might come across jealous or a little aggressive, but I think you will come to love her by the end of the season!”
Greenleaf has already been renewed for season two, well before the first season has concluded. It can be seen Wednesday nights on OWN. “Born For This: The BeBe Winans Story can currently be seen now through August 28th, at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.
Go to: www.arenastage.org for more information.
Written by Darryl Rembert
Interview by Erik Humphrey and Darryl Rembert
