Review: HELL'S KITCHEN National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center

Inspired by the music and upbringing of Alicia Keys. Hell’s Kitchen follows Ali, a 17-year-old girl full of fire, searching for freedom, passion, and her place in the world. Along the way, we meet her dynamic family, a musical mentor who changes her life, and the neighborhood that helps her grow up.

Following a successful premiere at Off-Broadway’s The Public Theater, Hell’s Kitchen opened on April 20th, 2024 at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. The production received 13 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical). The original cast recording went on to win the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Now, the show is about to close in New York on February 22nd (the same day the tour ends its current run at DPAC) after nearly 800 performances.

During the musical’s first year on Broadway, Patti LuPone was starring in a play next door called The Roommate. Around that time, she publicly criticized Hell’s Kitchen for being “too loud.” As a result, original cast member, Kecia Lewis, posted a six-minute video on Instagram requesting an apology from her, feeling that her comments were “bullying, offensive, racially microaggressive, rude, and rooted in privilege.” Following an industry uproar as well as the release of an open letter signed by over 600 Broadway artists, Patti eventually apologized for her remarks.

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.

With Alicia Keys being more contemporary compared to other recording artists who’ve received jukebox/biomusicals, that’s one thing that helps set this apart from others. Although a common complaint some have with them is that they tend to follow similar cliches and tropes. With Hell’s Kitchen, it avoids them for two reasons. The first being that it’s more semi-autobiographical along the lines of recent films like Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans.

The musical is inspired by Keys’ upbringing, but not directly based on it. The second being that the plot only focuses on a pivotal time in her adolescence. Book writer Kristoffer Diaz deserves a lot of credit for putting together something truly compelling. Not only that, but he also effectively uses Keys’ songs (most are her pre-existing hits in addition to some original tunes she wrote for this) to help tell the story. The orchestrations by Tom Kitt & Adam Blackstone truly bring her music to such energetic life.

Under the direction of Michael Greif, he pulls off staging that moves very cinematic from start to finish. Each of the design aspects plays a great deal in that. From Natasha Katz’ outstanding lighting to Robert Brill’s innovative set. Although Peter Nigrini’s projections do brilliantly display very visual exposition and context regarding where we are in the plot. Dede Ayite’s costumes do successfully recreate the style of what people were wearing in New York in the 1990s. Everyone in the cast really brings the house down with such powerhouse vocals and epic dance moves to Camille A. Brown’s dynamic choreography.

The musical really rests on the shoulders of its main protagonist, Ali. If she’s not well cast, the whole show doesn’t work. Yet Maya Drake, who at this point last year was a high school senior, truly manages to carry it on her back. The spunky personality she brings to the role helps the audience connect with her on the journey she takes. Kennedy Caughell as Ali’s mother, Jersey, appears to have the trickiest character arc. She starts out as very strict and overprotective, but later becomes more supportive of her daughter throughout Act II. Caughell really pulls that off, giving a very strong performance overall. Desmond Sean Ellington offers quite a soulful presence as Ali’s piano playing father, Davis. As Ali’s piano teacher, Miss Liza Jane, Roz White perfectly portrays as tough as nails, but with a heart of gold. JonAvery Worrell is also a highlight as Knuck, a bucket drummer whom Ali forms a close friendship with.

While not necessarily a fun show along the lines of other jukebox/biomusicals such as Jersey Boys or Beautiful, what we get instead is something quite empowering. In the end, audiences should still go crazy for Hell’s Kitchen. It’s impossible to not have foot-tapping moments throughout each of the songs. The national tour is currently playing at Durham Performing Arts Center through February 22nd.

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