{"id":363368,"date":"2026-10-03T01:32:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/363368\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T01:32:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T01:32:26","slug":"broadway-vets-matt-cavenaugh-and-jenny-powers-bring-kids-to-54-below-in-family-cabaret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/363368\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadway Vets Matt Cavenaugh and Jenny Powers Bring Kids to 54 Below in Family Cabaret"},"content":{"rendered":"

What happens when Rizzo from \u201cGrease\u201d marries Tony from \u201cWest Side Story?\u201d You get a modern-day von Trapp family.<\/a><\/p>\n

Broadway veterans <\/a>and married couple Matt Cavenaugh and Jenny Powers are returning to the stage \u2014 and bringing their three talented kids along for the show.\u00a0Their new cabaret revue, \u201cKeeping Up with the Cavenaughs<\/a>,\u201d hits 54 Below today, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3. It will also be available as a livestream. <\/p>\n

In the show, the couple and their children will belt Broadway favorites<\/a> in a musical tribute to Cavenaugh and Powers\u2019 famous past roles while showcasing their young prodigies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jenny Powers and Matt Cavenaugh rehearsing before opening night of \u201cKeeping Up with the Cavenaughs.\u201d Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

The concert marks the couple<\/a>\u2018s 54 Below debut and the first time they will share the spotlight with all three of their children: George (14), Henry (11), and Rose (6).<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of them has a nervous bone in their body,\u201d Powers told The Post, noting that even though Rose hasn\u2019t had the same theatrical training as her big brothers, she fearlessly belted out a \u201cbig solo\u201d during her kindergarten graduation in May.<\/p>\n

Cavenaugh is best known for starring as Tony in 2009\u2019s Broadway revival of \u201cWest Side Story.\u201d He has also played leading roles in \u201cUrban Cowboy,\u201d \u201cGrey Gardens,\u201d and \u201cA Catered Affair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Powers\u2019s notable Broadway<\/a> credits include creating the role of Meg in \u201cLittle Women\u201d opposite Sutton Foster and starring as Rizzo in \u201cGrease.\u201d She\u2019ll also be starring in the late Duncan Sheik\u2019s final musical, \u201cMemoirs of Amorous Gentlemen,\u201d which opens on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n

While 54 Below originally asked Cavenaugh and Powers to headline as a duo, Powers pitched involving the whole family after watching her husband and son Henry share the stage in a hometown production of \u201cThe Secret Garden\u201d last year.<\/p>\n

George, 14, and Henry, 11, rehearse with their West Side Story performance with their father. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re paying tribute to the roles that we\u2019ve either originated or revived on Broadway,\u201d Powers said. \u201cWe\u2019re also singing songs that we\u2019ll hopefully get to play someday. We\u2019re trying to bring a lot of love and laughter \u2014 and hopefully only a little bit of family dysfunction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music director Phil Reno and director Joe Langworth assembled the show. Langworth, though based in NYC, frequently travels to Arkansas to direct Link Theater productions and collaborates closely with the family.<\/p>\n

Cavenaugh will pay tribute to his role as Tony in \u201cWest Side Story,\u201d singing \u201cMaria\u201d as a trio alongside his two sons.<\/p>\n

\u201cRose is trying to pay tribute to all the roles Mommy played, but let\u2019s be honest \u2014 some of those roles are really inappropriate,\u201d joked Powers, though Rose will be singing some \u201cGrease\u201d tunes\u2026 just not the ones about sex, smoking, or driving. (It will be 10 years before she can get a learner\u2019s permit.) <\/p>\n

Jenny Powers rehearses with her daughter Rose, 6, ahead of their family\u2019s weekend cabaret debut. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

Powers told The Post that for her, the show was a rare opportunity to shine as both a mother and an artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to perform and still be a mom for many years while we were [in New York],\u201d said Powers. But after the family moved to Arkansas \u2014 Cavenaugh\u2019s home state \u2014 to raise their family, they began making their own opportunities.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Powers and Cavenaugh created The Link, a professional theater company and educational hub in Jonesboro, forcing the couple to \u201croot for ourselves\u201d by recruiting former cast mates to perform while building teaching programs for kids in the arts. <\/p>\n

The cast of \u201cKeeping Up With the Cavenaughs,\u201d from left: Rose Cavenaugh, Matt Cavenaugh, Jenny Powers, Henry Cavenaugh and George Cavenaugh. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

Powers said the couple started their youth program because they know how impactful the arts can be, which has been evident in their children. \u201cThey learn what it\u2019s like to step into someone else\u2019s shoes \u2014 what it\u2019s like to walk in their life for a day,\u201d she said, adding that it helps instill self-confidence.<\/p>\n

Her son George agreed. \u201cMost kids are usually nervous talking to people, even talking to teachers, but this built my public speaking and helped me be chill like my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Siblings George, 14, Henry, 11, and Rose, 6, rehearse for their NYC stage debut. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

Which is likely why, ahead of showtime, each kid expressed excitement to The Post rather than panic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super pumped,\u201d George said nonchalantly.<\/p>\n

Rose is most excited for \u201csome friends my size\u201d to see the show, and hints at a big duet with her mother.<\/p>\n

His little brother Henry agreed, adding that he\u2019s most excited for the \u201cbig stage\u201d and a vocal battle that pits family members against each other in a note-holding battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my parents have been stars,\u201d said the sixth grader. \u201cIt\u2019s time for a new generation,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n

The show will be livestreamed on 54below.org so that the Cavenaugh kids\u2019 friends \u2014 and any other kids who aren\u2019t allowed out past 10 pm \u2014 can livestream the show from home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What happens when Rizzo from \u201cGrease\u201d marries Tony from \u201cWest Side Story?\u201d You get a modern-day von Trapp…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[17748,207,4683,232,8091,9,56,63,65,64,223],"class_list":["post-363368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-arkansas","tag-broadway","tag-family","tag-lifestyle","tag-musicals","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-singers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}