Hell's Kitchen
Broadway Promotional Poster
MusicAlicia Keys and others
LyricsAlicia Keys and others
BookKristoffer Diaz
PremiereNovember 9, 2023 (2023-11-09): The Public Theater, New York City
Productions2023 Off-Broadway
2024 Broadway

Hell's Kitchen is a stage jukebox musical, co-conceived and directed by Michael Greif with songs by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys and a book by Kristoffer Diaz. It is inspired by and loosely based on the early life of Alicia Keys in Manhattan Plaza.[1][2] The musical will run from October 24, 2023, to January 7, 2024[3] as part of The Public Theater's 2023–24 season.[4]

Development

In 2011 Alicia Keys was involved as one of the producers and music composer of the 2012 Broadway musical Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond.[5] Even if it was critically acclaimed, the musical closed due to financial failures in the box office at James Earl Jones Theatre at its 24th staging out of 92.[6] In a 2023 interview for Ebony, Keys explained that she was inspired by its "story about a Black family in Martha's Vineyard" and that at that time "there was less diversity in so many ways, particularly in film and television, and definitely in theater".[7]

Production History

Off-Broadway (2023)

Keys began developing the play in 2011, and that year Diaz was attached to the project.[8] In 2018, Greif, was appointed as the musical's director.[9] By February 2023, the main roles were cast, and casting call for remaining roles was released on February 6[10] and auditions were held on February 17, 2023, at Actors' Equity New York Audition Center.[11]

In June 2023, Keys announced she had written her first jukebox musical Hell's Kitchen inspired by her own life and career in New York City.[12][13] According to Keys, the musical is a "love story between a mother and a daughter",[14] and in an interview on Good Morning America, Keys stated that the play describes "the experience of growing up in New York City, really chasing a dream, trying to find who you are, discovering your identity, and really following your heart, ultimately".[15] Tickets went on sale in August 2023.[16] The production was originally set to ran from October 24 to December 10, 2023.,[17] but on September 12, a two-week extension to December 23, was announced.[18] In October 2023, another two-week extension to January 7, was announced.[3] The play will feature some of Keys's best known songs, as well as new music written by Keys specifically for the play.[8] The musical began previews on October 24, 2023, at The Public Theater with an opening night of November 19. The off-broadway production is directed by Michael Greif . The show features choreography by Camille A. Brown, scenic design by Robert Brill, costume design by Dede Ayite and lighting design by Natasha Katz.

Broadway (2024)

On December 4, 2023, Alicia Keys announced that the production will transfer to the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. The show is expected to begin previews on March 28, 2024, with an opening night scheduled for April 20, 2024.[19] Casting is still to be announced.

Musical numbers

Instrumentation

The show's Tony-nominated orchestrations by Adam Blackstone and Tom Kitt, with arrangements by Keys and Blacksone.[20] Kitt figured as music consultant, with music coordination by Kristy Norter and music direction by Dominic Fallacaro.[20]

Cast and characters

Character Off-Broadway[21]
2023
Ali Maleah Joi Moon
Jersey Shoshana Bean
Davis Brandon Victor Dixon
Ray Chad Carstarphen
Tiny Vanessa Ferguson
Crystal Crystal Monee Hall
Junio/Q Jakeim Hart
Millie Mariand Torres
Riq Lamont Walker II
Knuck Chris Lee
Jessica Jackie Leon
Miss Liza Jane Kecia Lewis

Critical response

The Off-Broadway production received mostly positive reviews, being considered among the best examples jukebox musical.[22][23][24] The performances by Maleah Joi Moon of Ali and Shoshana Bean of Jersey were praised by critics both for acting and singing.[25][26][27][28]

In a 5 out of 5 star review, Lauren Mechling of The Guardian wrote that "If this show doesn't bullet to Broadway, we should all give up", appreciating the set design, choreography and the songs lyrics and rhythms, which "have been refreshed for the purposes of the story, and not a single tune feels obligatorily wedged in".[23] Sara Holdren of Vulture stressed that Hell's Kitchen "is unquestionably a slick commercial machine" and "able to pull off the feat of making the musically familiar feel brand new", avoing the "and-trite as often as it does because of the sheer force of its performances".[29] Jesse Green from The New York Times commented that "over the course of 11 songs, the first act does the work of ambitious first acts everywhere: expanding the show's horizon to the larger world in which the action takes place" while the songs "fit into the story (and into the mouths of a variety of characters) without too much jimmying. If they don't, the situation is acknowledged effectively" and described the singing, arrangements and orchestrations in the musical as "thrilling".[30]

Aramide Tinubu of Variety described the musical as "a sparkling story paying homage to New York, to that beautiful and heartbreaking transition between girlhood and womanhood", telling both "mother/daughter relationships" and " the issues underlying New York City in the '90s, ... and over-policing in communities of color". Tinubu affirmed that even if "sometimes feel cliché, bordering on corny", the cast "dynamism keeps the show from falling into pure melodrama", becoming "a quintessential musical".[31] Charles McNulty of Los Angeles Times wrote that Hell's Kitchen "made a believer of this jukebox musical denier", pointing out that it "soars whenever the gifted cast is singing one of Keys' brilliantly reinterpreted hits.", which were "artfully reimagined". Nevertheless, McNulty emphasizes that the book "has a stakes problem that's evident throughout" probably because Kristoffer Diaz "not wanting to intrude into areas that are so personal to Keys".[25]

In a mixed review, Helen Shaw of The New Yorker wrote that the musical sometimes appeared as "a private communication, one not meant to be shared more widely", assimilating it to The Gardens of Anuncia by Michael John LaChiusa because of their "certain cipher-like quality" and narration about "women with precocious success look back at their driven childhoods and edit out their grind and ambition in favor of a warm appreciation for their caretakers".[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Hell's Kitchen". The Public Theater. Archived from the original on 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  2. 1 2 Shaw, Helen (November 21, 2023). "Hell's Kitchen Brings Alicia Keys's Musical Power to the Public". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Culwell-Block, Logan (2023-10-12). "Alicia Keys' Hell's Kitchen Extends Upcoming World Premiere at The Public". Playbill. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  4. ↑ Evans, Greg (2023-06-01). "Alicia Keys Musical Hell's Kitchen Set For Fall Opening At New York's Public Theater". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  5. ↑ Hetrick, Adam (October 4, 2011). "Alicia Keys Will Pen Score for Broadway's Stick Fly". Playbill. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Douze, Khalila (February 10, 2012). "Alicia Keys' Broadway Stick Fly Closing". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ Baker, Josh (November 22, 2023). "Alicia Keys Brings Her Soundtrack to Life in Her First Musical 'Hell's Kitchen'". Ebony. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Paulson, Michael (2023-06-01). "Alicia Keys Is Making a Musical. Her Own Life Inspired the Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  9. ↑ Marley, Marius (2023-09-12). "Alicia Keys Takes Her Story—And Her Signature Sound—Off-Broadway With Hell's Kitchen". Vogue. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  10. ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (2023-02-07). "Alicia Keys Musical Hell's Kitchen in Development Through Off-Broadway's Public Theater". Playbill. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  11. ↑ "Hell's Kitchen – New York Shakespeare Festival Auditions". BroadwayWorld. 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  12. ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (June 1, 2023). "Alicia Keys Musical Hell's Kitchen, Suzan-Lori Parks' Sally & Tom, More Will Play The Public in 2023-2024 Season". Playbill. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ Mier, Tomás (June 1, 2023). "Alicia Keys Announces Opening of Musical Loosely Based on Her Life, Featuring Her Hits". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ Pierre, Mekishana (2023-06-26). "Alicia Keys on Why New Tour Is 'Unlike Anything' She's Ever Done and If Son Egypt Will Join Her (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  15. ↑ Major, Michael (2023-06-07). "Video: Alicia Keys Teases New Musical Hell's Kitchen on Good Morning America". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  16. ↑ Akin-Deko, Tumi (2023-08-03). "Alicia Keys' Autobiographical Broadway Debut: Hell's Kitchen Tickets Now on Sale". Hollywood. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  17. ↑ Mier, Tomás (2023-06-01). "Alicia Keys Announces Opening of Musical Loosely Based on Her Life, Featuring Her Hits". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  18. ↑ Wild, Stephi (2023-09-12). "Cast and Creative Team Set For Alicia Keys' Hell's Kitchen, Plus Two Week Extension!". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  19. ↑ Huston, Caitlin (December 4, 2023). "Alicia Keys Musical Hell's Kitchen to Open on Broadway This Spring". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Rosky, Nicole (October 3, 2023). "Alicia Keys Says the Goal is Broadway for Hell's KitchenI". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  21. ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (October 12, 2023). "Alicia Keys' Hell's Kitchen Extends Upcoming World Premiere at The Public". Playbill. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  22. ↑ Rubins, Dan (November 20, 2023). "'Hell's Kitchen' Review: Alicia Keys's Flimsy Jukebox Musical". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  23. 1 2 Mechling, Lauren (November 20, 2023). "Hell's Kitchen review – Alicia Keys jukebox musical is a marvel". The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  24. ↑ Snyder, Diane (November 20, 2023). "Hell's Kitchen: Alicia Keys' songs and story make for a real beauty of a jukebox musical". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  25. 1 2 McNulty, Charles (November 29, 2023). "Not another jukebox musical, Hell's Kitchen artfully reimagines Alicia Keys' songs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  26. ↑ Isherwood, Charles (November 23, 2023). "Hell's Kitchen Review: Alicia Keys's Musical Coming of Age". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  27. ↑ Oleksinski, Johnny (November 20, 2023). "'Hell's Kitchen' review: Alicia Keys' show sounds great, lacks story". The New York Post. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  28. ↑ Hofler, Robert (November 20, 2023). "'Hell's Kitchen' Review: Alicia Keys Celebrates an Apartment Complex". TheWrap. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  29. ↑ Holdren, Sara (November 19, 2023). "Hell's Kitchen: A Familiar Diary of Alicia Keys". Vulture. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  30. ↑ Green, Jesse (2023-11-09). "Hell's Kitchen Review: How Alicia Keys Got Her Groove". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  31. ↑ Tinubu, Aramide (November 20, 2023). "Hell's Kitchen Review: Alicia Keys Soundtracks a Powerhouse Cast in Vibrant Off Broadway Depiction of Teen Girlhood". Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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