Alicia Keys' 'Hell's Kitchen' is vibrant and romantic

Alicia Keys' songs lend themselves well to jukebox musicals. The bursts of energy from hits like “Girl on Fire” echo Keys' own origin story as a child growing up in the federally subsidized artists' haven of Hell's Kitchen's Manhattan Plaza. It's a dynamic explosion that fits the show it clearly depicts. It's a skyscraper that has sheltered all sorts of Gotham creators, from saxophonist Ricky Ford to actor Timothée Chalamet.

The thrilling song, “She's Living and Burning in the World,” evokes the title of a new musical at the Shubert Theater and matches Keyes' 17-year-old self. “It’s full of catastrophes, but she knows she can fly away.”

Hell's Kitchen also includes many other Keys songs, including “Fallin',” “No One,” and “If I Ain't Got You.” But essentially, writer Christopher Diaz has taken the lean lyrics of “Girl on Fire” and crafted a biographical plot that's fun, romantic, and endearing.

In it, 17-year-old Ali (Malea Joy Moon), Key's alter ego, is depicted opening a building's elevator to a loving community of actors, dancers, and musicians. An elderly pianist and teacher named Miss Liza Jane (Kesia Lewis).

A visit from the soulful Miss Liza Jane and her Ellington Room piano brings the rebellious but deeply emotional Ali into a quarrel with her supremely protective white mother Jersey (Shoshana Bean); Being able to walk away from the disappointment of a mostly absent but well-meaning black person. Her father, Davis (Brandon Victor Dixon), is a jazz musician who is responsible for the other side of Ali's musical education.

In much the same way that Lin-Manuel Miranda's “In the Heights'' is an homage to the people of Washington Heights, “Hell's Kitchen'' is a more personal show, but a tribute to the people of Manhattan Plaza. It is a homage to art history.

This work, written by a very talented star, tells about her formative years, and much of its appeal depends on the reader's fascination with it all. Many people would love to see Alicia Keys in her young life, even if you sometimes wonder what's going on on the other floor.

There's a lot to enjoy here, including Lewis' incredible performance, not to mention how director Michael Greif adds his signature steely edge to a deeply sentimental work. there is.

Even better, choreographer Camille A. Brown has created a collection of high-energy movements that make it performatively exciting without straying too far from what real teenagers would look like striding down 10th Street after school. Adding suites. There's nothing over-the-top in Robert Brill's set, but the show is visually stunning. Their enthusiasm and energy is so vibrant.

That being said, after reading this book, I immediately realized that a mother and daughter go through their struggling teenage years and end up in a mutually appreciative relationship with a spiritual and creative mentor. You can tell right away that this is a story to reach, and there are no surprises. The predictable exit of that leader creates a sense of necessity. Loss and recovery in the second act.

Keys sparked a huge tribute to his mother on Broadway, and it's great to be able to do that, especially since his mother is played so well by Shoshana Bean. While cynical marketers may see this as a ploy for the ever-important Broadway audience of her mother-daughter duo, it still feels sincere that Bean keeps everything grounded. This is also because they are determined to maintain it.

Moon, a young actress, has a difficult task here and makes a charming lead role. But she doesn't always sing right in the middle of the notes in these fiery Keys songs, or at least she didn't in the performances I saw. To be fair, in the typical exhaustion leading up to opening night, her instrument didn't sound like it was in the healthiest condition. So that may not be your experience.

But Dixon sounds as spectacular as Bean and Lewis, embodying the unreliable charmer just as much as he embodies the quintessential musician father, and I'm impressed by the breadth of the story's strokes. I had to fight irritation here and there.

But kudos to Keys for letting her younger self, known as an artistically inclined teenager, feel in a pinch.