Alicia Keys energizes Broadway in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’
Maya Drake as Ali with the company of the North American tour of Alicia Keys' Hell's Kitchen, part of the ATG San Francisco season at the Orpheum Theatre through May 24. Photo by Marc J Franklin
The stream of jukebox musicals, it seems, is never ending. If enough people ever liked a song, chances are it’s going to end up on a Broadway stage at one point or another. I’ve always liked Alicia Keys but wouldn’t exactly call myself a fan only because I was mostly conversant with her hits and her general public vibe, which admittedly, is incredibly cool.
Keys has approached her own jukebox musical, inspired by her childhood in Manhattan Plaza, high-rise subsidized housing for artists in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, with grace and intelligence. The team around her, including director Michael Greif, choreographer Camille A. Brown, book writer Kristoffer Diaz, are theater veterans who eagerly serve Keys’ story about Ali, a 17-year-old searching for her place in the world, and the two most important women in her life: her single mom and the artist mentor who first sat her down at the piano.
JonAvery Worrell as Knuck and Maya Drake as Ali. Photo by Marc J Franklin
Hell’s Kitchen, which ran for nearly two years on Broadway, provides a vibrant, occasionally thrilling, showcase for Keys’ pop-R&B-gospel-hip-hop fusion songs and for the story she wants to tell about an emerging artist who evolves from petulant teen to someone deepening her appreciation for the people and the city around her.
The touring production of Hell’s Kitchen, now at the Orpheum Theatre as part of the ATG San Francisco season, feels in many ways like a long, elaborately produced music video full of oversaturated colors in lights and costumes (by Natasha Katz and Dede Ayite respectively) and choreography that can feel fresh from the street (circa the poppin’ ‘90s) and the modern dance stage.
The story, especially in Act 1, feels slight and familiar. Ali (Maya Drake, a San Jose native) is a rebellious teenager, and Jersey (Kennedy Caughell) is her overprotective mother. They clash and then clash some more. Eat your dinner! I’m not hungry! Don’t hang out on the streets! I’m going to hang out on the streets! Don’t date that older guy! Oh, you know I’m going to date that older guy!
And so on. Police get involved, relationships rupture and sulking achieves new heights.
In her frustration, Ali falls under the spell of Miss Liza Jane (a regal Roz White), who uses one of their building’s music studios to play piano every day. Soon, Miss Liza Jane is giving lessons to Ali, who turns out to be a natural. Before you know it, she’s at an Alicia Keys level of proficiency (a very high level, in case you don’t know).
Worrell as Knuck and Drake as Ali get into an Empire State of Mind. Photo by Marc J Franklin
Act 2 cuts a little deeper as Ali grows up in a hurry. She has to contend with the fact that she hurt and betrayed a man she really liked (JonAvery Worrell as Knuck). She begins to accept her mostly absent father (Desmond Sean Ellington as Davis) for who he is rather than who she wants/needs him to be. And with the help of Miss Liza Jane, she is able to make amends with her mother and strengthen the most important relationship in her life.
So, in the end, it’s all about the women and the music, and to my mind, that makes for a pretty great show. Hell’s Kitchen provides a simple but meaningful framework on which to hang abundant and exuberant production numbers and power ballads. It all hangs together for a satisfying 2 ½ hours, with some pyrotechnic vocals coming from the charming Drake as Ali, a believable teen because she is one (her first Broadway show was the Hamilton tour on the stage where she’s now performing) and Caughell as Jersey, who stops the show with her take on “Pawn It All” and, with Ellington, puts a new spin on “Fallin’.” White has two barnstormer numbers for Miss Liza Jane, “Perfect Way to Day” and “Authors of Forever.” Keys wrote two new songs for the show (“The River” and “Seventeen”) and added an unreleased song to the show, “Kaleidoscope,” which is a highlight, as is the finale, the irresistible hit “Empire State of Mind.”
Honestly, just about everything about Alicia Keys is irresistible – 15 Grammy Awards and 90 million records sold notwithstanding. Hell’s Kitchen does a better-than-average jukebox job and demonstrating how this girl caught fire and just kept burning bright.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen continues through May 24 as part of the ATG San Francisco season at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes (including one 15-minute intermission). $69.03-$274.95 (subject to change). Call 888-746-1799 or visit us.atgtickets.com/whats-on/san-francisco/.
