Review Roundup: HELL'S KITCHEN National Tour is Now Underway

The National Tour of Hell's Kitchen is now underway! The Broadway musical from 17-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, premiered with a three-week engagement at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio, running through November 1, 2025. The tour will visit more than 30 cities in its first year. Read the reviews below!

The tour stars Maya Drake (Ali), Kennedy Caughell (Jersey) and Roz White (Miss Liza Jane), with Desmond Sean Ellington as Davis and JonAvery Worrell as Knuck.  

The full ensemble features Stemarciae Bain, Miya Bass, Jaylen T. Bryant, Rashada Dawan, Sherée Marcelle Dunwell, ’Zaiah Ellis, Mae-Lynn Flores, Marques Furr, Destini Hendricks, Jeffrey May Hyche, Alfred Jackson, Gigi Lewis, Christopher Miller, Usman Ali Mughal, Chikezie Nwankwo, Sangeetha "Sang" Santhebennur, Marley Soleil, Beda Spindola, Asten Stewart, Teetee, Sydney Townsend, Timothy Wilson and Ethan Zundell.

HELL’S KITCHEN won two 2025 Tony Awards and the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The musical, now in its second full year on Broadway, continues to play to rapturous audiences nightly at the Shubert Theatre in New York City.

The musical focuses on Ali, a 17-year-old girl full of fire, searching for freedom, passion, and her place in the world. Along the way, you'll meet the musical mentor who changes her life, her dynamic family, and the neighborhood that helps her grow. Relatable, raw, and refreshingly fun, HELL’S KITCHEN is a celebration of finding yourself, your purpose, and the people who lift you up.

Roy Berko, BroadwayWorld: The superb cast is headed by 18-year-old Maya Drake as Ali. According to the program notes this is her professional debut and she has limited academic training. She is not a product of a prestigious musical theatre program such as University of Michigan or NYU. From her stellar performance this is shocking. This is a talented young lady who can sing, dance, act and control the stage with seeming natural ability and ease. Standing ovation, here!

Mark Meszoros, The News Herald: It’s all but impossible to imagine anyone who appreciates Keys' music not enjoying this show, and the guess here is it will prove to be entertaining enough for the non-fan, thanks to its relatable story and humorous turns — a few courtesy of nicely placed F-bombs.

Joey Morona, Cleveland.com: The best Broadway musicals create an immersive experience. The singing, dancing, set design, costumes and story transport you to a specific time and place, away from the heaviness of the world outside the theater. “Hell’s Kitchen” does all of that, capturing the vibrant spirit of 1990s New York. Camille A. Brown’s choreography — a dynamic mix of hip-hop and lyrical movement — gives the show its pulse. But none of it works without a strong foundation: the music. Powered by Alicia Keys’ timeless songs and a charismatic, immensely talented young lead, “Hell’s Kitchen” is as soulful and authentic as the artist who brought it to the stage — and just as entertaining.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: Diaz and Keys were also smart enough to know that the show couldn’t all rest on that one character, given her age, and, unlike many jukebox shows, they spread out the music over a broader range of performers. In the case of this tour, this clearly attracted middle-career singers to these roles. Kennedy, a recording artist in her own right, just kills it, like really kills it, on “Pawn it All,” and the silky-smooth sounds of Ellington, a “Hamilton” alum, sent the woman across the aisle from me into convulsions of pleasure during his several numbers. Which is kind of the point of the character.

Kerry Reid, Reader: So there is a little bit of a paint-by-numbers quality to the way Diaz structures the story. (Though arguably, many artists have similar stories of early love, figuring out who they are in relationship to their parents, and a beloved mentor who shows up just when they need them most.) Yet the moments of raw emotionality and joy underpinning the show generally carry us through, thanks in no small part to Camille A. Brown’s terrific choreography and the tear-the-roof-off vocals provided by Drake and Caughell.

Dennis Polkow, New City Stage: It’s an intimate show but the thoughts of characters can be epic, which is reflected in the brilliant and refreshingly innovative choreography of Camille A. Brown, which is always drama driven. It’s extraordinary how understated yet meaningful movement is handled throughout the show. Our eyes lock effortlessly into its energetic yet unified lines.

Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun Times: In all, vocals, movement and visuals create the core of excellence that defines “Hell’s Kitchen,” even in the absence of a well-honed book. It’s a full-body immersion in music that spans the emotional spectrum, anger to elation, rage to revelation, anguish to ambition.

Rachel Weinberg, BroadwayWorld: Beyond that, Diaz’s book, Michael Greif’s direction, and Camille A. Brown’s choreography often feel chaotic. The plot flits frequently between the story lines, never grounding us in specific moments or characters. I enjoyed hearing Keys’s big hits, but many of the other songs are awkwardly placed. Unfortunately, HELL’S KITCHEN lacks the vibrancy and specificity of its New York City setting. Hard-core Keys fans will probably still want to see this — but you’ll have to be in it for the songs, not the story.

Gary Graff, The Oakland Press: Over the course of its 22 songs, “Hell’s Kitchen” explores a few layers. It’s ultimately a love story between a mother and daughter and a love letter to the neighborhood and New York City, culminating in Key’s 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind.”

Jarrod Michael, BroadwayWorld: At the center of this story is Ali, played by Maya Drake. The role is portrayed with remarkable freshness and emotional openness by a performer whose youthfulness is not just evident, but essential. She brings a sparkling sincerity to the role, wide-eyed yet determined, making Ali’s journey feel immediate and deeply personal. There is an unmistakable sense that we are watching a young artist at the beginning of something special. It’s thrilling to imagine where her voice, instincts, and storytelling will be five years from now as she continues to refine an already compelling craft.

Faith Huey, Post Crescent: The cast is truly what made this production so full of life, and Drake's performance lit up the stage with her glowing presence and incredible vocal range. She perfectly encapsulated what you'd imagine from a high-spirited teen wanting to experience everything life has to offer. Between the excited outbursts and outright pain and anger as she navigates tough situations, her acting had the audience emersed in the story and empathizing with her character. This is also Drake's first professional role, which you'd never guess considering her flawless execution and comfort playing Ali.

Mark Bretz, LaDue News: The touring production of the Alicia Keys jukebox musical, “Hell’s Kitchen,” is a fast-moving, spirited musical inspiration from the gifted Keys and her cohorts that paints a portrait of the artist as a young woman. The presentation at The Fox is movingly directed and energetically performed. Its essence is captured in the show’s dazzling choreography and faster musical numbers.

Jeffrey Kare, BroadwayWorld: Having now seen the show for myself, do I think it’s “too loud?” Not necessarily. Yes, it does get loud, but the sound design work from Gareth Owen successfully prevents it from becoming deafening to the ears. From Patti’s perspective, it’s probably an example of how the older generation isn't really into the music of today. Which is kind of similar to how Jersey, Ali's mother in this musical, isn't into the music her daughter loves. I imagine around the time The Beatles were at the height of their popularity, some adults didn’t get what their kids were losing their minds over.

Andy Haynes, Attractions: As a jukebox musical, Hell’s Kitchen may raise some initial skepticism. The genre can be hit or miss, often bending narratives awkwardly to accommodate familiar songs. Here, however, the autobiographical foundation gives the music an organic place within the story. While the plot occasionally shifts to accommodate a hit, the songs rarely feel forced.

Cristine Struble, Flick Direct: Although some song choices fit like a square peg in a round hole, the ensemble cast’s performances make the audience overlook some plot gaps and other lacking elements. Additionally, the energetic and emotive dance moments in front of dazzling screens add a concert-like vibe to some scenes.

Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel: "Hell's Kitchen," featuring music by Alicia Keys, is less about the New York City neighborhood and more about the parental relationship.

Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel: The earnestness of the show is balanced by a cast who just let it flow, singing with pulsating ebullience and dancing in a cacophony of choreographic styles — they won’t be contained, making you sit up and take notice of the notes.

Deborah Bostock-Kelley, BroadwayWorld: Hell’s Kitchen is messy, painful, joyful, and deeply honest. A girl finding her voice. A mother learning to loosen her grip. A community carrying both beauty and burden with New York as a backdrop that shapes them all.

AlyTheFirst, BroadwayWorld: Based on the life story of Alicia Keys, Hell's Kitchen not only brings you all of the hits, I mean all of this hits, but takes you into Alicia's world before it even starts. The tone is set via the cypher-ish DJ set (Alicia's playlist growing up maybe?) reminicent of 106& Park, Rap City, digital underground, and artists on the street corner inviting you in to a melodic flow of New York (many of us grew up on IYKYK).

Tessa Nelson, BroadwayWorld: The production gives real weight to the over-policing of young Black men—through Knuck’s storyline, Brown’s choreography, Peter Nigrini’s projections (which include images of historical figures such as Amadou Diallo), and Roz White’s emotionally real and commanding performance as Miss Liza Jane, a black mentor figure who has borne witness to the struggle. These elements make the danger feel immediate and historically grounded. And yet, by allowing Jersey to evade any meaningful reckoning with her own complicity, the musical ultimately undercuts that work. The result edges toward what Peter Brook described as “deadly theatre”—a production that gestures at serious ideas, renders them beautifully, and then leaves them fundamentally unchanged.

Herbert Paine, BroadwayWorld: HELL’S KITCHEN is a jukebox musical, but it rarely behaves like one. Diaz and musical arranger Adam Blackstone weave familiar songs you might know into the story in surprising ways rather than dropping them in as decorative hits. When a number like You Don’t Know My Name arrives, it emerges from unexpected characters and moments, giving the music a new dramatic life beyond the radio version FM listeners are used to hearing.

Steve Murray, BroadwayWorld: The show is chock full of excellent vocal performances of Key’s score. Drake is perfect in the role of the frustrated teen bucking her mother’s strict overprotection. Her mother Jersey, played by big belting Kennedy Caughell, is a hardworking single mom and has some big moments. Ali’s artistic mentor is Miss Liza Jane, and the Tony winning role is capably handled on tour by Roz White. Desmond Sean Ellington plays the distant father Davis, and JonAvery Worrell is Knuck, Ali’s new love. All have fine voices and carry the material to new heights.

Leslie Katz, Local News Matters: The book by Kristoffer Diaz, which is inspired by, rather than a play-by-play, of Keys’ real life, mostly works. At the outset, the characters seem cliched, but by the end of the show, their challenges ring true. The believable story’s themes — a troubled mother-daughter relationship, a missing dad, discrimination against young Black men, the power of a mentor, the spirituality in music — reflect daily living.

Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle: The point isn’t to beat you over the head with the platitude that children should be surrounded with art; instead, “Hell’s Kitchen” implies that music comes from everywhere, from the bucket drummers outside your door to your own humdrum, one-bedroom apartment that can, with patience and forgiveness, fill with love.

Alexis Coffee, Daily Bruin: Altogether, “Hell’s Kitchen” is a show that earns everything it reaches for. When the full company takes the stage for “Empire State of Mind,” every voice, every story and every body from that apartment building is heard. The song is full of love and life and it is impossible not to groove and sing along.

Cori Graham, SoCal Thrills: Overall, the storytelling, acting, singing, and imagery in this show is unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. It’s more than a Jukebox musical, it’s an important story about growing up and finding who you are through the experiences of those around you and through music. This is an absolute must-see.

Charles, Los Angeles Times: But the energy of the production is infectious. “Hell’s Kitchen,” a New York story of a wunderkind discovering her gift, helped me get over my allergy to the jukebox genre. The soaring quality of the orchestra and the delectable company of voices pay exhilarating homage to a singular artist, who seems right at home at the Pantages.

Average Rating: 80.4%