It’s fun to go to the theater and hear R&B in a musical. The knockout singers in the North American tour of “Hell’s Kitchen” now onstage in San Francisco thrillingly bring Alicia Keys’ solid songbook to life.
It’s no surprise that the show, which premiered at New York’s Public Theater in 2023 and went to Broadway in 2024, is a multi-Tony Award nominee and winner of a Grammy Award for best musical theater album.
San Jose native Maya Drake is terrific as the lead character Ali, a 17-year-old living in the titular gritty New York neighborhood in the 1990s, where she struggles with her overprotective white mother, hangs out in the street with pals, and crushes on an older guy, to mom’s dismay. Her sporadic contact with her Black father, a musician, contrasts with the deep friendship she strikes up with a wise, older pianist who teaches her to play (and much more) on an instrument in the high-rise where she lives.
The book by Kristoffer Diaz, which is inspired by, rather than a play-by-play, of Keys’ real life, mostly works. At the outset, the characters seem cliched, but by the end of the show, their challenges ring true. The believable story’s themes — a troubled mother-daughter relationship, a missing dad, discrimination against young Black men, the power of a mentor, the spirituality in music — reflect daily living.
Still, its’s the killer renditions of Keys’ songs, with music supervision by Adam Blackstone, that make “Hell’s Kitchen” a delight. The huge radio hits are cleverly, evocatively reimagined. The chorus encapsulates a high point in Ali’s life in “Girl on Fire”; Ali’s mom and dad flirt in “Fallin’”; Ali and her dad share a tender moment in “If I Ain’t Got You” and Ali and her mom reconnect in “No One.”
All the vocalists shine throughout, and each gets a moment or more in the spotlight. Roz White as Ali’s teacher Miss Liza Jane dazzles in “Perfect Way to Die”; JonAvery Worrell, as Ali’s crush Knuck, harmonizes beautifully in “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready)”; and Desmond Sean Ellington as Ali’s father Davis introduces himself strongly in “Not Even the King.” And powerhouse Kennedy Caughell as Ali’s mother Jersey stops the show belting the bluesy “Pawn It All.”
Everyone looks great, too. Dede Ayite’s costumes (baggy pants for the kids!) capture the era; Camille A. Brown’s choreography has the chorus vigorously busting moves; Michael Greif’s direction evokes authentic performances from all.
Alicia Keys’ fans shouldn’t miss “Hell’s Kitchen.” Musical theater fans who love a story that goes down easy and songs they know performed in new, exciting ways, shouldn’t miss it, either.
“Hell’s Kitchen” runs through May 24, 2026 at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. Tickets are $69 to $275 at https://us.atgtickets.com/.