Theater Review by Carol Rocamora . . . .
“This girl is on fire” . . . and so is her show. Hell’s Kitchen, Alicia Keys’s vibrant new bio-musical now playing at the Public Theater, is red-hot and ready for Broadway.
With 23 powerhouse songs written by the pop star herself and a compelling book by Kristoffer Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen invites you to the pulsating world of Manhattan Plaza, on the midtown block of West 43rd Street where Keys grew up. The time is the 1990s. The semi-autobiographical story focuses on Keys at age 17 (a passionate Maleah Joi Moon) trying to break away from a loving but overprotective mother, Jersey (an equally passionate Shoshana Bean). The object of Ali’s rebellion takes the form of a handsome young worker named Knuck (an affecting Chris Lee) whom she pursues unashamedly (providing the show with moments of unexpected humor). When Jersey discovers them together in their tiny apartment in Manhattan Plaza, a dramatic confrontation ensues, providing a high-stakes climax to a high-speed act one.
Act II focuses on two other defining relationships in Ali’s life. One is a classical piano teacher named Miss Liza Jane who lives in Ali’s building and who adopts Ali as a protegee, providing her with musical mentoring, urging her to seek inspiration in her African roots. As played by the indomitable Keisha Lewis, she delivers one of the most powerful show-stopping numbers (“Perfect Way to Die”) not only of this show but of this theater season thus far. The other relationship is one with Ali’s absent father, Davis (played by a charming Brandon Victor Dixon), a professional musician estranged from her mother, Jersey, since birth. Despite the strained relationship they’ve shared till now, they bond in music as they play and sing a duet of “If I Ain’t Got You” in “The Ellington Room” of Manhattan Plaza, a rehearsal space where Miss Liza Jane also gives Ali lessons.
Fans of Alicia Keys will relish hearing the familiar “Girl on Fire,” “Fallin’,” and other Keys favorites. The overabundant score is further enriched and enlivened by the show’s “mise en scene”ˆ—namely, Manhattan Plaza (an affordable residence for performing artists). Hell’s Kitchen is Alicia Keys’s love song to this New York neighborhood in the way that In the Heights is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s homage to Washington Heights. Under Michael Greif’s skilled direction (he helmed Rent, after all, an homage to another New York neighborhood and time), this vibrant neighborhood comes to life on Robert Brill’s sleek, multi-layered set. Thanks to Greif’s creative collaborators, the stage is teeming with life, color, and energy—featuring an exciting elevator ride we take to the 42nd floor where Ali and her mother live (dazzlingly lit by Natasha Katz). Outside on the crowded streets, filled with music and movement, exuberant teenagers dance to Camille Brown’s thrilling choreography, while young drummers drum their hearts out. It calls to mind Jerome Robbins’ memorable choreography on the streets of yet another New York neighborhood in West Side Story. An electrifying two and half hours culminates with Keys’s big-bang final number—entitled “Empire State of Mind.” It belongs on Broadway, and hopefully soon.
At the heart of this exhilarating evening is a tender coming-of-age, mother-daughter story that reminds me of other true-to-life ones, like Rose and her daughter Louise (who became Gypsy Rose Lee, immortalized in the 1957 musical Gypsy) and Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minelli. Thanks to Diaz’s sensitive book, this mother and daughter share equal weight. Maleah Joi Moon makes a sensational professional debut as Ali, and Shoshana Bean brings down the house with her stunning solo “Pawn It All” in Act II.
Throughout the show, I kept waiting to hear Shoshana Bean sing a version of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”—the signature song from Gyspy belted out by the immortal Ethel Merman, in which she envisions a great success for her daughter (and herself).
No matter. Already, everything’s coming up roses for Alicia Keys.
Hell’s Kitchen. Through January 14 at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place). www.publictheater.org
Photos: Joan Marcus
