by Lucy Komisar
With a book by Kristoffer Dias and music and lyrics by singer Alicia Keys, this is presented as Keys’ own story. At least that her “songs and experiences growing up in NY inspire a story made for Broadway.” It turns out “inspire” can be interpreted many ways.
Ali (Maleah Joi Moon) plays Alicia Keys. She is black. Moon’s voice is strong and rich in the show’s jazz, soul and rock. Her mother, Jersey (a fine Shoshana Bean), is white. Davis, her father (a realistic Brandon Victor Dixon), is black. Ali and Jersey live in the huge artists’ cooperative on West 42nd Street near the Hudson River in the neighborhood called Hell’s Kitchen. Davis has nothing to do with the family.
Ali at 17 is silly and neurotic, with common teenage angst.
She sings, “I know there’s more to life than this.” But there had better be “more” than Keys’ trite lyrics!
“I know there’s more to life / than this
cause something’s calling me/
so I’ll follow the river/ so I’ll follow the river/
I’m gonna catch the wind, cause I’m dying/ to begin
so I’ll follow the river.”
Meanwhile, Jersey wants to keep Ali from getting involved with an older boy, Knuck (Jackie Leon), who drums on a bucket and makes a living as a house painter. She tells her the oft-repeated story of how she met the girl’s father. He was in Seward Park on the Lower East Side and he wheeled out an old upright piano and started to play.
“Money/ some people so poor/ all that they got is money
ohh and diamonds/
some people waste their life/ counting their thousands….
Some people so lonely/
what good is a castle/ surrounded by people
but ain’t got a friend/that’s not on the payroll.”
Jersey was entranced. She got pregnant. It turned out that as Ali was growing up, Davis was mostly away on gigs and never showed up even when when in town.
Her mother’s warnings ignored, Ali gets involved with Knuck. But then deus ex machina, she is saved. In the building’s Ellington Room is Liza Jane, a piano player. She takes Ali under her wing. (Sorry, in the context, a cliché is appropriate.)
“Where there’s light/ there must be a shadow
cloudy skies/ and rain make a rainbow
we are builders, we are breakers
we are givers, we are takers
and it’s alright/ we are seven billion stories.”
Here’s where one of those stories is a fake.
The girl who we are meant to believe is “inspired by” Alicia Keys discovers her musical talent at 17 when she is taught by Liza Jane.
Except according to biographical information, “classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs when she was the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at the age of 15.” Could you make a musical about a 5-years-younger-than-Ali school girl? There was “Matilda, the Musical.” But (also) not real, no famous name and no sex interest.
So, the play profits off Keys’ celebrity and the people who like her music, but doesn’t tell Keys’ story.
Michael Greif provides smooth direction and there’s lively street dancing with choreography by Camille A. Brown. A show-stopper is the R&B number at Arthur’s Tavern in Greenwich Village. In fact, the dancing is the best thing about the show.
The music is okay for the genre, though it doesn’t stand out. There is too much noisy rap with unintelligible lyrics. To hear the songs, go here. This show is for teens and 20s.
“Hell’s Kitchen” Book by Kristoffer Dias, music and lyrics by Alicia Keys, directed by Michael Greif, choreography by Camille A. Brown. Sam S. Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th St, NYC.
Runtime 2hrs35min. Tkts 212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400. Opened April 20, 2024. Open run. (Maleah Joi Moon will not perform at Wed matinees or Sun evenings Aug 25 or Sept 1.)