Veteran star of stage and screen Deidre Lang knows how to play the showbiz long game. Fresh from portraying the show-stopping Motormouth Maybelle on the Hairspray national tour, Lang is back on the road portraying Gran Georgeanna – Tina Turner’s beloved grandmother – in the smash hit TINA – The Tina Turner Musical national tour which headlines Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier February 4 to 9.
The cast also includes American Idol finalist Jayna Elise starring as Tina Turner.
Lang has had an extensive career performing on Broadway where her credits include Ragtime, The Lion King and Tommy. She has appeared in the Las Vegas productions of The Lion King and Rock of Ages, and her television credits include Fox TV’s iconic In Living Color as a “Flygirl” alongside Rosie Perez and Jennifer Lopez.
Her sterling 40-year career motivated her to co-foundthe Lang Ellis Talent Management company during the COVID pandemic, to help artists of all ages reach their dreams in the entertainment industry. If anyone knows how to navigate the ups and down of show business – especially as a Black woman – it is Deidre Lang who as a young performer was inspired by Tina Turner.
Lang recently sat down with Curtains Up for a candid Q&A.
Did you always want to be in musical theatre?
Deidre Lang: I always wanted to sing, act and dance. I used to watch movies starring Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers. That’s what I wanted to do. So my mom gotme singing, dancing and acting lessons, and the rest is history!
You studied with Alvin Ailey!
The Ailey School is a great dance school but I didn’t stay there that long because I auditioned for shows, and got a role in the musical revue Bubbling Brown Sugarin Germany.
National tours can be tough on the road, especially as we get older. How do you manage it?
You know how people have their little vices, drinking and whatever. I never was that type of person. I always took care of myself, of my health. My kids are grown up now, my husband is a director on The Lion King, so now I have this chance to get back out there and do it. And I feel great! I also feel like I’m a late bloomer. I feel like this is my time.
In many ways Tina Turner was also a late bloomer.
Yes, her great solo success came when she was in her 40s. It’s very inspirational for me to be in this show.
Do the young actors in this cast look to you as a role model?
I play the grandmother in the show, so they’re kind of like my kids anyway. And they’re very respectful to me. They think it’s so cool all the things that I’ve done, they look up to me, and I love them all. It’s kind of cool being in this position because I started my career so young. I got my first job at 18!
What is like to portray Tina’s grandmother?
Tina went to live with her grandmother because her mother and father both left her. So Tina and her grandmother had a great bond. It’s a sweet role.
I can’t interview you without asking what it was like to be a Flygirl on In Living Color.
Gosh, that was so much fun. I learned so much. The dancers, we’d be in one room doing our dance stuff, while the actors would be in the other room. When we would have breaks, we’d run in there to watch them because they were so funny. And they always had the craft services in their room. So we’d also go in there to get some food. It was a great experience to work on a set with some of the big greats. I loved it.
During the pandemic you started your Lang Ellis Talent Management company.
My passion has always been performing and over the years I helped out many performers. When I was inThe Lion King, every time somebody would leave the show, I’d be thinking, “I know a dancer or a singer who could do this role.” So I’d pick up the phone and call the producers and recommend a performer. Then one day I thought why not start a talent-management company? I co-founded the company with my best friend Anika Ellis-Mungin who is also a performer.
What are your thoughts about the icon that is Tina Turner, not just as a woman, but as a Black woman?
Being a kid of the 80s I watched music videos on MTV. And as a young Black woman coming up, I found her inspirational. She had a hard life and I admire her tenacity.
Why is Tina the Musical a must-see?
During the show you will laugh, you will cry, you will have fun, then at the end of the show, it’s like being at a Tina Turner concert.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical headlines Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts from February 4 to 9. Click here for tickets.
Performance schedule:
Tuesday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. (Opening night)
Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 8 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 9 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Production photos courtesy evenko and Broadway Across Canada.
