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.

Average Rating: 78.8%