Hell's Kitchen at the Peace Center
It’s fitting that Kennedy Caughell, one of the leads in the national tour of the new musical Hell’s Kitchen, lists the lead in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as one of her previous credits. Just as Beautiful connected with pop music fans who grew up in the 1960s and early ’70s, Hell’s Kitchen speaks to the generation who came of age in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Featuring more than 20 songs from singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, the musical’s story line is inspired by Keys’ own teen years, growing up in the 1990s in the titular neighborhood of New York City, raised by a single mom in a one-room apartment in a housing tower called Manhattan Plaza, occupied chiefly by musicians and other artists.
If you’re a fan of Keys’ music, that’s all you really need to know before heading to the Peace Center, because the music is energetically recreated as powerful solos, rousing production numbers, and moving duets and ensemble pieces. Hits including “Girl on Fire,” “Fallin’,” “You Don’t Know My Name,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” “No One,” and others are slotted into the show at plot-appropriate moments and passionately delivered by an ensemble with deep wells of talent.
A publicity photo from the original Broadway production of Hell’s Kitchen depicts Shoshana Bean as Jersey and Maleah Joi Moon as Ali. (Note that the national tour features different cast members.)
The lead is newcomer Maya Drake, fresh out of high school herself and completely committed to the role of 17-year-old Ali, the Keys stand-in. Her fine voice and expressive delivery bring Keys’ deeply personal songs comfortably into the realm of musical theater, and Drake is clearly having the time of her life onstage. Ali’s mom, Jersey, seems at first a generic over-protective, over-worked mom but eventually takes on some depth as we learn about her past and her failed relationship with Ali’s father, the charismatic and chronically unreliable Davis (Desmond Sean Ellington), an itinerant jazz pianist. As Jersey, Caughell’s vocals are terrific, and she blows the roof off with “Pawn It All” in Act 2. Ellington, as the flaky father, has one great scene with Drake (dueting on “If I Ain’t Got You”) but is otherwise stuck playing a thinly drawn character whose chief purpose is to help mother and daughter to bond.
A publicity photo from the original Broadway production of Hell’s Kitchen depicts Brandon Victor Dixon as Davis (left) and members of the ensemble. (Note that the national tour features different cast members.)
The other two leads are not based on any specific people from Keys’ biography—call them composites. Jonavery Worrell is Knuck, the 20-something construction worker and musician whom Ali crushes on, to the dismay of Jersey. Worrell is appealing in the role, but without much of a biographical arc, there’s only so much he can do. The show’s standout role is Miss Liza Jane, an older pianist who mentors Ali in the shared music room at Manhattan Plaza. Kecia Lewis nabbed a Tony for the part on Broadway; the national tour has found a worthy successor in Roz White, who the Playbill notes is celebrating “40 years as an arts professional and educator.” White wields the authority and authenticity Miss Liza needs to share her wisdom, and her every scene is a gem.
A publicity photo from the original Broadway production of Hell’s Kitchen depicts Kecia Lewis as Miss Liza Jane and Maleah Joi Moon as Ali. (Note that the national tour features different cast members.)
Not that Miss Liza’s past is any clearer than of any of the other roles. Character development is not the strong point of the show’s thin book, credited to Kristoffer Diaz, and the friends and neighbors who surround the five leads are just a colorful, boisterous blur. As a singing and dancing ensemble, though, they’re top notch, and the big dance scenes are impressive and joyous, from the smile-inducing opening (“The Gospel”) to the satisfying finale (“Empire State of Mind”). Tony-nominated choreographer Camille A. Brown deserves a special shout-out, along with Timothy Wilson, the dance captain for the tour. It would be worth a revisit to the show just to focus on the skills of individual ensemble dancers.
Hell’s Kitchen was created to showcase Keys’ songs, and that it does, thanks to a fine cast and live band (led here by music director Emily Orr). Even audience members not previously familiar with Keys’ work will no doubt leave the show as fans.
Alicia Keys’ Hells Kitchen runs through February 15 at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina. For tickets and information, visit peacecenter.org.
Photos by Marc J. Franklin, courtesy of the Peace Center.
A publicity photo from the original Broadway production of Hell’s Kitchen depicts Maleah Joi Moon as Ali and Chris Lee as Knuck. (Note that the national tour features different cast members.)
