By Melissa Griegel…
Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography
Kennedy Caughell (Paradise Square, Beautiful) celebrated the release of her debut album Just the Beginning on July 27th with a celebrity-infused cocktail party at Bond 45. Released by Center Stage Records, Caughell’s album can be streamed across a wide variety of platforms by clicking here. Caughell is currently touring the US as Jersey in Alicia Keys’ musical hit Hell’s Kitchen.
Caughell was effusive in her thank yous saying, “Thank you to all of my collaborators and vocalists and arrangers, orchestrators, musicians, and everyone who gave their time, talent, heart, and artistry to help bring this music to life. A project of this size is never one person’s triumph; it belongs to the community that makes it possible.” Just the Beginning is produced by Brian Spector, Robbie Rozelle, and Caughell, along with support from Michael Scott, Tammy Nelson, and Caughell’s mom Tracye Caughell. Spector says he was “won over by the purity of her voice and her kind, loving spirit” and was thrilled to produce an album with the artist.
The album represents Caughell’s musical and theater journey, with a selection of music from both classic and contemporary theater, movie soundtracks, and popular music that made an impact on Caughell’s life. Of her choices, Caugehell says, “It’s a love letter to the music that shaped me—from Broadway and beyond—and a celebration of the stories that remind us who we are. In a world that can feel heavy, my hope is that these songs bring a little more joy, a little more hope, and a little more light. If someone walks away feeling seen, inspired, or simply believing in themselves again, then this album has already become everything I hoped it would be. May these songs remind us that our story is still unfolding. This is just the beginning.”
The title track “Just the Beginning” is the world premiere recording of Danny K Bernstein’s upcoming new musical Far from Canterbury. She also included two other world premieres with “I Dream of Janey” and “Heaven Can Save Our Home” by Jason Howland. Both songs are from Paradise Square, however the first one was cut from the show. As someone who loved Paradise Square, I was thrilled with the inclusion of these songs since the Paradise Square cast album unfortunately never came to fruition.
I also enjoyed Caughell’s beautiful renditions of “My Days” from The Notebook and
“Being Alive” from Company. Caughell included songs from shows she has appeared in (in addition to Paradise Square) such as “I’m Not That Girl”/“Defying Gravity” (Wicked), “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), “Get Out and Stay Out” (9 to 5), and “You Matter to Me” (Waitress).
A great addition to the album are the guest vocal appearances by Jason Gotay (Floyd Collins), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), Shoba Narayan (Aladdin), and Isaiah Bailey (National Tour, The Phantom of the Opera). Gotay duets with Caughell on “I See the Light” from Tangled, while Fankhauser joins her on “You Matter to Me” from Waitress. “A Dream Worth Chasing Trio” is a really beautiful and interesting mash-up of “Into the Unknown” (Frozen 2), “How Far I’ll Go” (Moana), and “Go the Distance” (Hercules) with Bailey and Narayan.
Narayan and Fankhayser attended the premiere party along with a nice mixture of industry greats such as Kate Baldwin, Troy Iwata, Todrick Hall, Douglas Lyons, Jeff Sullivan, Nat Zegree, Gabrielle Elisabeth, Emily Grace Tucker, Bryson Baumgartel, Kiara Wade, Kyra Sorce, and Yasuhiko Fukuoka (who was the sound engineer on this album). Caughell has joined Baldwin on stage at 54 Below. “To know Kennedy is to love her,” Baldwin said. “Listening to her sing makes you feel like she’s your best friend.” Lyons also admires her talent. “When I hear Kennedy’s voice, I hear the future. She carries an undeniable gift with a full range of class and contemporary vocals that penetrate the soul.”
Center Stage Records is the new label from Broadway Records founder, Grammy Award and Tony Award winner, Van Dean. The label is dedicated to the preservation of Broadway, London, Off-Broadway, new musicals in development and theater-related solo albums. Center Stage Records premiered with the original Broadway cast recordings of How to Dance in Ohio and Gutenberg the Musical, Steven Pasquale’s Some Other Time with John Pizzarelli, and the Original London Cast Recording of Mandela the Musical. Latest releases include the Broadway cast albums of Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Floyd Collins starring Jeremy Jordan, Once Upon a Mattress starring Sutton Foster, Lea Salonga’s Sounding Joy – The Holiday Album, JC Chasez and Jimmy Harry’s Playing with Fire, Patti LuPone’s new double album A Life in Notes, and the London recording of The Lightning Thief. To peruse the entire catalog, please visit CenterStageRecords.com. Follow Center Stage Records on all social platforms @centerstagercds.
Kennedy Caughell: Just the Beginning Track Listing
1) Just the Beginning (by Danny K. Bernstein, from Far from Canterbury)
2) My Days (by Ingrid Michaelson, from The Notebook)
3) I’m Not That Girl / Defying Gravity (by Stephen Schwartz, from Wicked)
4) Catch My Breath (by Kelly Clarkson, Jason Halbert, and Eric Olson) / This Is Me (by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, from The Greatest Showman)
5) I Dream of Janey (music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Masi Asare and Nathan Tysen – cut fromParadise Square)
6) Get Out and Stay Out (by Dolly Parton, from 9 to 5)
7) Being Alive (by Stephen Sondheim, from Company)
8) I See the Light – duet with Jason Gotay (Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater – from Tangled)
9) (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (music by Carole King, lyrics by Gerry Goffin – from Beautiful: The Carole King Musical)
10) Heaven Save Our Home (music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Masi Asare and Nathan Tysen – from Paradise Square)
11) You Matter to Me – duet with Ben Fankhauser (by Sara Bareilles, from Waitress)
12) I Got the Sun in the Morning (by Irving Berlin, from Annie Get Your Gun)
13) A Dream Worth Chasing Trio – with Isaiah Bailey and Shoba Narayan/
Into the Unknown (by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, from Frozen 2) /
How Far I’ll Go (by Lin-Manuel Miranda, from Moana) /
Go the Distance (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel, from Hercules)
14) Let It Sing (music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Brian Crawley, from Violet)
