Alicia Keys' musical opens on Broadway

Johnny Oleksinski

theater

by Johnny Oleksinski

this girl is finally burning.

Alicia Keys' musical “Hell's Kitchen'' opened on Broadway Saturday night after a checkered run at the Public Theater last fall, but now that it's just a few blocks from the title district, it's significantly smaller. It has been improved.

The arrival of Spring Ippo also means that the cast's vocal power can really be demonstrated at the Schubert, a larger theater at home.

And damn, would that ever happen? It's the best song you can find on Broadway.

Keys' hits weave an evocative and vivid tapestry of 1990s New York City, with these incredible actors performing in songs such as “Not Even The King,” “Pawn It All,” and of course “Empire State.” of Mind” and other songs that overwhelm the audience. ”

Especially the talented Marea Joy Moon.

She plays Ali, a fictional 17-year-old who stands in for Keyes at a turning point in his life. As Ali once did, she lives with her mother, here called Jersey (Shoshana Bean), in the artist-filled Manhattan Plaza on West 43rd Street.

Making her Broadway debut, the stunning actress immediately wowed us by defiantly running out into the Hudson River to sing “The River,” before culminating minutes later with Keys' brilliant new song, “Kaleidoscope.” I mastered it.

But while musically epic, the plot of “Hell's Kitchen” doesn't match the grandeur of the score.

The book, from author Christopher Diaz, lands on the lighter end of a coming-of-age story, with Ali becoming infatuated with an older man named Nak (Chris Lee), arguing with his strict mother over the boy, and poignantly The story is about discovering her existence. Her piano talent is thanks to her extraordinary teacher, Miss Liza Jane (Keyshia Lewis).

Downtown, I felt the story was light. I still do. And I don't like the over-reliance on Ali's narration. But with the music powered up and director Michael Greif's production resized for Broadway, it now works as a gentle expression of the emotional intensity of teenagers, even when the stakes are much lower. I am.

For example, after Ali spends the night at Nax, the cast sings the triumphant “Girl on Fire.” For a 17-year-old, the big number is a big moment.

Keyes found a star on the moon. She is an expressive performer who instantly captivates the audience, with an instrument that can make our hearts soar and sink at once. She takes the leap because she is amazingly powerful. And she sinks because she knows New York will lose her to Los Angeles in two seconds.

But Moon is only one-quarter of the great quartet of vocalists here.

Bean, who plays Jersey, sings “Pawn It All” to Ali's ex-boyfriend at Arthur's Tavern on Grove Street, where Ali's musician father Davis (Brandon Victor Dixon) is absent after Ali's latest failure. In addition to being a diva, she also becomes a doting mother.

And the satin smoothness of Dixon's voice deepens his character from deadbeat. Sure, he goes missing for months, but when he does a great rendition of “Not Even The King” and “If I Ain't Got You,” she unlocks the door for him. It's too easy to just leave it alone.

The reason “Hell's Kitchen'' resonates so powerfully is because of the indomitable Lewis. Although her formidable character isn't fully fleshed out by Diaz, the actress wins us over with her first-act finale, “Perfect Way to Die.”

It's great to see Greif, who made his name in 1994's “Rent,” return to the New York street scene. He understands them better than anyone else.

Along with choreographer Camille A. Brown, whose dances are full of free-spirited youth and Manhattan fun, the director gives the film a uniquely lively energy of Ninth Avenue without resorting to old clichés.

It's a show that's true to its city. At the end, the cast sings the lyrics, “The concrete jungle where dreams are made,” and the audience completely believes it as they walk out into Times Square.