R&B singer-songwriters probably don't exist. do not have The name Beyoncé has been around for as long as Alicia Keys. At February's Grammy Awards, the 20th anniversary reissue of her 2003 sophomore album, Alicia Keys' Diary, won Best Immersive Audio Album, and Keys left the venue with a gold gramophone. gone. Days later, the Brooklyn Museum opened “Giants: The Art of the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” giving the public access to a private collection that includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gordon Parks, among others. . And last month, “Hell’s Kitchen” opened on Broadway. The film is a coming-of-age love story inspired by Keyes' upbringing on the west side of midtown Manhattan in the 1990s.
An autobiographical jukebox musical nominated for 13 Tony Awards (including Best Musical and Best Choreography), “Hell's Kitchen'' features more than 20 original songs by Alicia Keys. Examples include “Fallin',” “Girl on Fire,” and “Un-Thinkable (I').” m Ready)' and more – Teenage Ali (played by Melea Joy Moon) meets her overprotective mother (Tony nominee Shoshana Bean) and the charming Knack, an aspiring drummer she falls in love with. (Chris Lee) to strengthen the story that deals with. A period drama full of Tommy Hilfiger, FUBU and Fat Farm, with no prominent smartphones, the play also features plenty of '90s-style choreography courtesy of “Hell's Kitchen” choreographer Camille A. Brown. I am.
“Hell's Kitchen” completely establishes its narrative lattice structure within the first 15 minutes, and was written by Pulitzer finalist Christopher Diaz. Ali and her mother Jersey exhibit the push and pull inherent in many stories of single-parent families: suffocating mothers and fathers and rebellious children. Knack is introduced to playing street drums with an upturned plastic bucket with his crew, but initially discounts Ali's romantic advances, given their age difference. (While having a public painting job and his own apartment, Knack appears to be in his mid-20s compared to Ali's 17.) Ali soon cuts off Jersey's mother's apron strings by beginning a semi-scandalous relationship with an adult man and simultaneously starting piano lessons under the tutelage of an older pianist in her building, Miss Liza Jane (played by Kecia Lewis).
Ali's first encounter with his classically trained mentor was one of the few songs originally composed by Alicia Keys for “Hell's Kitchen” (including “The River” and “Seventeen”) The album begins with Lewis' enchanting performance of “Kaleidoscope.'' The choreography for this scene is a moving change from her 'In Living Color'/TLC-inspired '90s moves for the rest of the play. Choreographer Brown explained to The Grio:There doesn't necessarily have to be a spark [expressed as dance from] 90's. It may just be a matter of emotion. I was really focused on my modern dance language. My movements incorporate step, ballroom, hip hop, ballet, jazz, and modern. It was an opportunity to demonstrate my movement language through modern dance. ”
The Broadway production, which originally opened at the Public Theater last November, features a revamped, tighter second act and improved pacing of the storyline, making it a better choice than the Tony Award-winning MJ The Musical and past Tony Award-winners. It is a more cohesive play, similar to the work nominated for. “Motown: The Musical'' It's a shame that rap isn't represented in “Hell's Kitchen,'' since it's set during the golden age of hip-hop, and it's a shame that rap isn't represented in “Motown: The Musical,'' which originally featured Jay-Z.・Even if “Mind” is included in the work. ) I was able to fit Alicia Keys' songs into her 24 songs, but it was nearly impossible to include any other music. But even in the absence of Jigga, Biggie Smalls, and other rap giants of the era, the spirit of this decade comes through strong enough through the costumes and, importantly, the dancing.
“We were all clear that it was from the '90s,” Brown said. “But Alicia and the creative team really gave me the agency to express the '90s and the spirit of the '90s through movement.”
To paraphrase a late '80s classic by house music legend Marshall Jefferson, make a quick move to the Shubert Theater. Tickets for “Hell’s Kitchen” are on sale now through January 2025.
