When you think of Alicia Keys you might think of her powerful voice and ear wormy lyrics. Both of these come into play in her semi- autobiographical musical Hell’s Kitchen. (Book by Kristoffer Diaz, music and lyrics by Alicia Keys.) It’s now being presented by Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre downtown.
Using both her most popular songs, as well as new music written especially for the show, (which debuted on Broadway in 2024), the vocals are powerful and do not disappoint. So important are those vocals, that unlike traditional musicals where the chorus both sings and dances, in this show you have the company dancers (and oh boy do they ever,) and the company singers. They are not the same people. This frees the dancers to do energetic, acrobatic and arduous 90s moves, while the singers belt out the tunes.
A quick synopsis of this coming-of-age story. In the mid-1990s mixed race 17-year old Ali (Maya Drake) is experiencing a lot of firsts in her life (first love, first taste of playing piano) and is clashing with her over-protective white mother (Kennedy Caughell) in the process.
While the play touches on some parts of the trauma of the Black experience (like when Ali’s mom calls the cops on Ali’s new boyfriend and later realizes that could have gotten him killed) for the most part the family story is that of the love between mother and daughter.
Black audience members who attended the actor chatback after the show talked about how much they appreciate the representation on the stage, and how much they identified with the dances and conversations between the characters. Any mother or daughter will identify with the tension between a young lady trying to grow up and a mom trying to protect her from the world.
After an argument with her mom, Ali finds herself in the Ellington room of her New York apartment building and overhears Miss Liza Jane (Roz White) playing piano. Intrigued she goes in to listen and eventually Miss Liza James becomes her teacher. (Going back to the vocals- wow! White has an amazingly memorable voice and it was not lost on the audience at all- they were there for every second of it.) It turns out that Ali has a natural talent for music, no doubt due to her musician father (Desmond Sean Ellington).
The storyline itself is not the strongest. There could be a lot more conflict and tension added to the script, and at times it felt like the dialogue was just a bridge to the next song, but the sheer energy of the dancers and the powerful vocals keep you entertained and move you through the simple plot.
In the first half of the show there were a lot of audio issues, with the music overpowering the vocals, but it seemed to get better after intermission.
The scenic design by San Diegan Robert Brill used a lot of projections and scaffolding to give a very urban NYC feel.
Some actor standouts: Drake as Ali, Caughell as mom Jersey, and White as Miss Liza Jane really shine in their roles and did I mention their voices!? O.M.G wow! A couple of supporting performers who caught my eye; Chikezie “Chike” Nwankwo, played many roles, but especially stood out to me as the doorman, and JonAvery Worrell who played love interest Knuck also was notable.
The show runs 2.5 hours and plays through August 16. There are $25 same day tickets available 3 hours in advance of showtime at the Broadway San Diego box office.
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Associate Editor Sandi Masori is a theater and food reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.