The Canadian premiere gives the two powerhouse performers a prominent showcase in a coming-of-age jukebox musical built around Alicia Keys’ sound.
A line delivered by Roz White’s Miss Liza Jane to Maya Drake’s Ali states the musical’s central idea:
“Your job is to get ready to create your own story.”
The touring production frames Ali’s coming of age through the musical’s mentors, relatives and neighbours who shape her choices. Its most persuasive theme is that education and self-knowledge can emerge beyond the classroom.
That theme gives Hell’s Kitchen more weight than its familiar jukebox-musical framework might suggest.
Set in 1990s Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, the story follows 17-year-old Ali (Maya Drake), who introduces the residents and musicians of Manhattan Plaza, along with friends from school. Her single mother, Jersey (Kennedy Caughell), is a working singer determined to keep Ali focused on school. Ali’s father, Davis (Desmond Sean Ellington), moves in and out of their lives, while Jersey objects to Ali’s growing interest in Knuck (JonAvery Worrell), a bucket drummer.
Ali also encounters Miss Liza Jane practising piano in the building’s Ellington Room. Drawn to the music, Ali begins lessons with the older woman, establishing the mentorship at the story’s centre.
Mirvish describes the production as rebellious, relatable, raw and refreshingly fun. The production largely supports that description, although the orchestra occasionally overwhelms Keys’ lyrics in full-company numbers. The imbalance is less apparent in the solos, where the score’s mix of resilience, tenderness and defiance comes through more clearly.
Robert Brill’s sleek, angular set is complemented by Natasha Katz’s high-contrast lighting and Peter Nigrini’s projections, which evoke the concrete density of Hell’s Kitchen. Dede Ayite’s costumes draw effectively on the baggy silhouettes and bright colours of 1990s fashion.
Michael Greif directs Kristoffer Diaz’s sometimes surface-level book with restraint, allowing the characters’ flaws to register without overstatement. Camille A. Brown’s razor-sharp choreography supplies the production’s sharpest bursts of energy. Adam Blackstone’s music supervision and his arrangements with Keys are especially effective in familiar numbers, including ‘Girl on Fire.’
As Ali, Maya Drake gives the central character a personable blend of humour, confidence and adolescent defiance, particularly in confrontations with Jersey over Knuck. JonAvery Worrell brings an easy presence to Knuck’s scenes with Ali. Desmond Sean Ellington gives Davis sufficient charm to make Jersey’s lingering attraction credible, while the production also makes clear why she resists him.
The strongest performances on opening night come from Kennedy Caughell and Roz White.
Caughell’s Jersey and White’s Liza Jane are presented as adults marked by the often harsh life experience, and both actors give those histories credible emotional weight. White’s ‘Authors of Forever,’ in which Liza Jane urges Ali to value her time with her mother, is a carefully shaped dramatic high point. Caughell’s ‘Pawn It All,’ as Jersey confronts Davis and warns him away from Ali, provides another. Both numbers demonstrate vocal control and prowess as well as a clear command of character.
Mirvish describes Hell’s Kitchen as “a soundtrack of rebellion, life, and love that speaks no matter where you’re from, where you’ve been, or where you’re going.” The production is most convincing when it treats that broad claim in specific human terms: a mother protecting her daughter, a mentor recognizing a young person’s talent, and a teenager learning to define herself.
The book does not always explore those relationships in depth, and the sound balance needs attention in full company numbers.
Even so, strong lead performances, dynamic choreography and polished design make Hell’s Kitchen an engaging account of artistic and personal formation.
Running time: approximately two hours and thirty-five minutes with one intermission.
The production runs to October 25 at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria Street, Toronto. For tickets: mirvish.com or call 1-800-461-3333.
MIRVISH presents the Canadian premiere
Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen
Directed by Michael Greif
Choreographer: Camille A. Brown
Music Supervision: Adam Blackstone
Scenic Design: Robert Brill
Costume Design: Dede Ayite
Lighting Design: Natasha Katz
Sound Design: Gareth Owen
Projection Design: Peter Nigrini
Arrangements: Alicia Keys, Adam Blackstone
Performers: Maya Drake, Kennedy Caughell, Roz White, Desmond Sean Ellington, JonAvery Worrell, and others listed in the programme.
