We're giving you an exclusive first listen to "For Good" (Stephen Schwartz, from Wicked – featuring Christine Dwyer and cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf) from Rachel Potter's upcoming album Stages available streaming and digital formats and on CD on Friday, May 16.
Listen to the track in the video player above! More information on Stages can be found below.
Theater star and Nashville recording artist RACHEL POTTER – best known for appearances on Fox TV’s “The X Factor” and the Broadway musicals The Addams Family and Evita– has signed with the innovative new label Joy Machine Records for her upcoming album Stages. The label will release her album in streaming and digital formats and on CD on Friday, May 16. Stages, produced by David Wise, is a curated collection of reimagined Broadway classics, showcasing Rachel’s roots in musical theater and her passion for reinterpreting these iconic songs with full symphonic arrangements. An exciting full throttle listening experience that feels both classic and contemporary, Stages embraces recent stage musicals whose songs aren’t often heard outside the context of the show.
Stages features an all-star lineup of guest vocalists, including Tony Award winner Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!, Spring Awakening), Christine Dwyer (Wicked, Waitress), Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, Wicked), Omar Cardona (“The Voice,” From Here), Matt DeAngelis (Swept Away, Hair), Marty Thomas (Xanadu, Wicked), Marissa Rosen(Water for Elephants, Kristin Chenoweth’s For the Girls), Brandon Kalm (Swept Away, American Psycho), Jamey Ray (Voctave, London Symphony Orchestra), EJ Cardona (“The X Factor”), Jenifer Thigpen (Broadway Inspirational Voices), Voctave (acclaimed a cappella group), and The Young Fables (Nashville duo Laurel Wright & Wesley Lunsford). Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf, a veteran of 21 Broadway musicals, is also featured on cello.
Rachel comments: “I have always dreamed of signing a record deal – in fact, it’s what fueled my moving to Nashville in 2013. I think it’s perfectly poetic that after all these years of chasing that dream, ultimately, being my authentic self as an artist and honoring my Broadway roots on this album has made that dream a reality, I am so honored to partner with the creatives at Joy Machine Records for Stages. They are incredible champions of Broadway artist community, while also being a part of our community themselves, and I couldn’t be happier to have them on my team. Their vision for boosting Broadway works in the recording industry is beautiful, and I can’t wait to see all the JOY they truly create in this space. Thank you, Joy Machine, for believing in Stages, and in me!”
Will Van Dyke of Joy Machine Records adds: “As part of our continued mission to reshape how the theater interacts with recorded music, we are thrilled to add Rachel Potterto our roster of Joy Machine artists. Rachel has created a glorious album that marries the tradition of large orchestral music with contemporary scores. We can’t wait to share her vision with the world!”
Three singles from Stages have already been released: “Come What May / The I Love You Song,” a mashup from Moulin Rouge! and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, featuring Omar Cardona and Marty Thomas; “Pulled,” which Rachel sang on Broadway in The Addams Family; and “My Days,” written by Ingrid Michaelson for the Broadway musical The Notebook.˜
Stages, engineering by Garth Justice and mastered by Alan Silverman, features orchestrations by Ned Ginsburg (tracks 2 and 10), Bradley Knight (tracks 1, 6, 7, 11, and 14), Rob Potorff (track 3 and 5), Nathaniel Semsen (track 8), David Shipps (track 4), and Greg Sims (tracks 12 and 13).
“RACHEL POTTER – STAGES” TRACK LIST
1. The Life of the Party (Andrew Lippa, from The Wild Party)
2. Pulled (Andrew Lippa, from The Addams Family)
3. Part of Your World (Alan Menken & Howard Ashman, from The Little Mermaid) / Disneyland (Marvin Hamlisch & Howard Ashman, from Smile)
4. Come What May (David Baerwald & Kevin Gilbert, from Moulin Rouge! The Musical) / The I Love You Song (William Finn, from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – featuring Omar Cardona & Marty Thomas)
5. Some Things Are Meant to Be (Jason Howland & Mindi Dickstein, from Little Women: The Musical – featuring Ali Stroker)
6. House of the Rising Sun (Traditional)
7. Animazement Trio (featuring Jamey Ray & EJ Cardona)
8. My Days (Ingrid Michaelson, from The Notebook)
9. Matilda Medley (Tim Minchin – featuring Voctave, Jude Kroenung & Cree Hasse)
10. On My Own / I Dreamed a Dream (Claude-Michel Schönberg & Alain Boublil, from Les Misérables – featuring Natalie Weiss)
11. He Was Mine (Laurel Wright & Wesley Lunsford, featuring The Young Fables)
12. Waitress Medley Pie (Sara Bareilles – featuring Matt DeAngelis, Marissa Rosen, Marty Thomas, Jenifer Thigpen, Christine Dwyer, Brandon Kalm & Omar Cardona)
13. Maybe This Time (John Kander & Fred Ebb, from Cabaret)
14. For Good (Stephen Schwartz, from Wicked – featuring Christine Dwyer and cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf)