****  Alicia Keys! Who is she? And why is there a play with her name on it? I am of an age ( after all, I just celebrated the 53rd anniversary of my 30th birthday) that evidently is unaware of this talented young lady, but tonight, sitting in the 3rd row at the Nederalnder Theatre, I was witness to her show, called “Hell’s Kitchen”, which I am told is an area of New York, with a book by Kristoffer Diaz and her music and lyrics. What a pleasant surprise!

The story is a “coming of Age” type of story, weaving segments of her actual biography with her music, making the pieces fit like a jigsaw puzzle and under the direction of Michael Greif and the engaging choreography of Camille A. Brown, this experience has brought me closer to Keys’ music, wanting to explore it even deeper. In the role of  Keys is the wonderful Maya Drake, a recent high school graduate ( that’s right, HIGH SCHOOL) making her stage debut, and what an unbelievable performance to start her stage career with!  WOW! WOW! WOW!

Ali ( Ms Drake) is a 17 year old going through “finding herself”. Her parents are divorced and while she sees her father on occasion, she is mostly her mother’s daughter. Her mother, Jersey ( a powerful portrayal by Kennedy Caughell) is overprotective and wants to make sure that Ali doesn’t make the same mistakes that she made in her teen years. The Father deftly handled by Desmond Sean Ellington, is not around in the first act, but gets far more involved afetr Ali meets a young man, Knuck ( played to perfection by Jonavery Worrell) who is not what Jersey wants for her daughter.

There is a great deal of friction between mother and daughter over the young man who has gone beyond a mother’s wishes, causing the mother and daughter to stay away from each other. Ali finds solace in a special room in her apartment building, called The Ellington Room, containing a grand piano. Every day, there is a woman who is in ths room, playing the piano, named Miss Liza Jane ( an amazing performance by Roz White). Miss Liza Jane becomes Ali’s mentor and teaches her to use music to wash away her problems and think clearly. As the story progresses, we learn more about her and as I mentioned earlier, her father is also a piano man, making act two much more important for his character.

Ali grows as a person and all those around her make for a better understanding of adulthood. This is a story that deals with rebellion, love and of course learning about who Ali is and what might become of her in the future. After all, we all play a part in construction of the road map that will lead us to our final fortune. While there are many of Ms Keys hits in this musical, others have been written for the show to fill in the story line gaps, and they do so with greatness. By the way, this ensemble is one of the highest energy groups I have seen on an stage in Chicago. I cannot list them all, but they are terrific.

On the technical side, the set by Robert Brill is cleverly done, allowing us to go from scene to scene with no lost time. The projections (Peter Nigrini) truly make this possible. For this production, the musicians are built into the backdrop and because she is so amazing, I feel the need to pay homage to Emily Orr ( I believe it is her playing for Ms White and Ms Drake) who is also the music director.

FYI: The “F BOMB” is used a great deal in the story and some music, so if this might be offensive, be aware of this up front. It didn’t bother me, as it was very natural.

“Hell’s Kitchen” will continue Thru – Nov 30th with performances as follows: