There was never much doubt that Alicia Keys' musical Hell's Kitchen would make it to Broadway. Keys said she spent 12 years developing a loosely autobiographical jukebox of her songs, incorporating hits such as “Girl on Fire,” “Fallin'” and “No One.”
The problem is that while it was performed to a sold-out crowd, the show, which premiered at the Public Theater in November, had a choppy pace and too many groan-inducing scenes, making it difficult to see the second half of the show. The point was that the curtain had lost sight of the main point of the story. I was trying to make it. (Jesse Green, in a review for the New York Times, noted that after the intermission, the show “fell directly into the pothole it had wisely avoided in the first half.”)
Yet here we are, watching “Hell's Kitchen” at the Shubert Theater, a few blocks from where the show takes place. When I saw the first version last fall, I felt uneasy. But “Hell’s Kitchen” established itself on Broadway. The revamped show is thrilling from start to finish and easily stands out as one of the few must-see shows in a crowded season.
All of this was accomplished without major overhauls to Michael Greif's production, which was written by Christopher Diaz. The cast and creative team are essentially the same, with careful tweaks and trimmings rather than radical changes. The main differences are more sophisticated technical elements and, most importantly, a subtle but decisive change in focus.
That adjustment is clear from the beginning, as the story begins with a new line: “Because I'm your mother.” We find ourselves in the middle of an apparently recurring argument between Keyes' stand-in, 17-year-old Ali (a sensational Marea Joy Moon), and her mother, Jersey (an on-form Shoshana Bean). It's thrown in. Jersey is very protective of her child, raising her daughter single-handedly without much help from Ali's father, Davis (Brandon Victor Dixon). Her mother and daughter live just outside Times Square, near the title of the show, and Jersey worries that her daughter will fall prey to the many dangers on the streets. Now she's in the late 1990s, and Ms. Jersey wants Mayor Giuliani to: Please clean this all up. ”
Naturally, these parental concerns became a constant nagging for Ali, and after a close conversation with his mother, he took us on a guided tour of Manhattan Plaza. Manhattan Plaza is a midtown oasis that has provided federally subsidized housing for artists since 1977 (and where Keys himself spent his childhood). The complex and surrounding streets belong to Ali, who investigates with her best friends Jessica (Jackie Leung) and Tiny (Vanessa Ferguson).
In Ali's field of vision is Nack (Chris Lee), a handsome man in his early twenties banging a bucket outside a building. Much of the first act consists of Ali's relentless pursuit of Nak (who is understandably horrified when he eventually learns her age).
Jersey is predictably furious when she finds out about the romance. This is not a spoiler, as the story revolves around that conflagration. While the plotline involving Knack recedes into the background, it's not really overlooked, as it's becoming clearer that the core relationship of the show is the one between Ali and Jersey. “Hell's Kitchen” is still a coming-of-age story, but its focus has become sharper. If the first act is Ali seeking a connection with Nak, the second act is Ali finding her mother and herself. This is a huge improvement and serves as the element that ties all the elements of the story together.
One of them is Miss Liza Jane (Keshia Lewis), a neighbor who becomes Ali's spiritual mentor and teaches her the piano. (In real life, Keys started playing around the age of 7 and was drafted by both Columbia Records and Columbia University as a teenager.) Even though it's odd that he's been doing this all his life, Miss Liza Jane makes sense here as a surrogate mother figure. – Curious Ali has never heard of the man doorman Ray (Chad Carstarphen) describes as Manhattan Plaza's “heart, soul, and conscience.” This kind of nonsense is particularly ineffective against Lewis's powerful vocals on “Authors of Forever.” Lewis usually sings in a glossy mezzo, but Ali can go up and down an octave faster than the elevator at her favorite Manhattan Plaza.
In most musicals, Lewis stands out as a vocalist despite playing a supporting role, but in “Hell's Kitchen,” the competition is stiff. Moon, Beane, and Dixon all excel in their different styles, but they never feel at odds with each other or the score. Moon draws inspiration from his R&B and soul, Bean is a traditional Broadway belter, and Dixon brings swinging, jazzy syncopation to the retooled “Fallin'.” (Arrangement by Keys and music supervisor Adam Blackstone.)
That one of Keys' biggest hits, “Fallin',” is reintroduced in this way is a testament to the cleverness here. Dixon's masterful takeover of the song quickly proved how much his character relied on his charm. It's also wise not to direct all of your instantly recognizable songs at Ali. She got a new song for the show, “Kaleidscope,” which she often shares (as she does on the slightly tweaked “You Don't Know My Name” with Jessica and Tiny like).
Either way, no matter who plays it, the song is lifted by Gareth Owen's sound design. Although the volume is high, the mix is crisp and balanced. It features beautifully warm lighting by Natasha Katz, functional yet elegant multi-layered scenic design by Robert Brill, and uncompromising '90s costumes by Dede Ayte (oh, those Timberlands, those FUBU jackets, And Mama) is par for the course for a rigorous production featuring. jeans).
The most exciting complement to the music is the choreography by Camille A. Brown, Tony Award-nominated for “The Choir Boys'' and “To All the Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide.'' The movement pulsates with life and is perfectly integrated into the overall aesthetic of the show, but it's the attention to detail that makes it memorable.
As is the norm on Broadway these days, the dancing is ensemble-based, but Brown and her troupe brilliantly find the individuals within the group, each one present, like the dancers who blow gum bubbles in the middle of a song. . As Ali grew up in the village known as Manhattan Plaza, there is always a sense of identity within a community. I think it's only fitting that she's back in her old neighborhood.
hell's kitchen
At the Shubert Theater in Manhattan. healthkitchen.com. Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes.
