Alicia Keys’s catalogue cooks in Hell’s Kitchen

Broadway in Chicago is on a roll with the musical Hell's Kitchen for three weeks at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph Street. While one role threatened to spoil the recipe, the majority of the performers rose to the occasion.

The title of Hell's Kitchen describes the New York neighborhood in Manhattan Plaza, not to be confused with Gordon Ramsay's competition series. It's a semi-autobiographical story cooked up by Chicago's Teatro Vista playwright Kristoffer Diaz and conveyed with singer Alicia Keys' catalogue of work. With just a dash of salt, the story is shoehorned in with Alicia's Grammy Award-winning songs and obstacles from living in that region of the world. Keys was born in Hell's Kitchen and was classically trained on the piano like the main character in the show.

Ali is a young person living in a concrete jungle with a mother named Jersey who is separated from Ali's father, Davis. Ali discovers a teacher named Miss Liza Jane practicing in the Ellington Room rehearsal studio and eventually becomes Jane's main protege.

Ali falls for a construction worker named Knuck and attempts to renew her relationship with her dad. By the end of the fable, female empowerment shines through and following one's dreams, thanks to an “Empire State of Mind,” is hammered home.

The Kitchen creator's mission is successful because of Keys' gut-wrenching lyrics, which play well in a modern jukebox musical. The tunes don't slay in the way that Mamma Mia!

The touring company is hitting 30 cities before it's all over and Chicago has a healthy run of Hell's Kitchen through the Thanksgiving holiday.

May Drake is an 18-year-old playing Ali, a 17-year-old and she displays youthful exuberance in the part. Ali is within the age of consent in New York, but it adds a layer to the piece that will make some viewers uncomfortable. Ali's mother, Jersey, has good reason to be protective of her daughter during a tumultuous age in her late teens. Kennedy Caughell delivers a multifaceted version of Jersey, then reaches astounding heights in terms of vocal acrobatics and depth.

When approaching a cover song, vocalists know that they need to make their rendition personal and unique in arrangement from the original. Desmond Sean Ellington does with this ease as Daddy Davis and still has the bandwidth to make this deadbeat mighty real.

Roz White pitches down to the baritone as Miss Liza Jane to suit her alto range and can stop someone in their tracks with just a look.

JonAvery Worrell knocks it out of the park with Knuck, but his scene partner, Drake, fails him and is tied up trying to hold her own. The secondary characters outperform May as well and cast member Marley Soleil seems like the obvious replacement, as she understudies Ali while playing her friend Jessica.

Whether it's icy nerves or tonal qualities that often sound like sour notes, this girl isn't on fire and she is drowning in a sea of talent. From the jump, May is not magnetic enough at her introduction and she doesn't display the proper amount of star quality by the end. Slapping a sparkly jacket on her is not enough of a gimmick to show the necessary growth of the butterfly leaving her mother's cocoon. Davis' vintage retro looks from costume designer Dede Ayite are a gift that keeps giving and the dancer's hip hop clothing is effective for the moment required.

Choreographer Camille A. Brown's roots are showing in Hell's Kitchen's expressive physical emoting and Alvin Ailey-inspired dance moves. While this comes off as being heavy-handed, the sliding metal set scored high points for being solid with smooth transitions.

No one will get in the way of how fans feel about Alicia Keys' songbook and this musical honors the songwriter's legacy with this rare opportunity of hearing the lyrics be belted out on the road.

Find out what's cooking in Hell's Kitchen at broadwayinchicago.com from now until November 30, 2025.