I was lucky to experience Alicia Keyes’ Hell’s Kitchen this week on Broadway while visiting my friend Jane in Brooklyn. Semi-autobiographical, it tells the story of a young girl, Ally, who as a teenager has to deal with a lot of heartache and struggle. “Do something with that anger,” her piano teacher tells her. “Sit. Play” And she does. And it changes everything.
The production is fast paced and modern with real images of the Hells’s Kitchen neighborhood, just blocks away from the theater district. It is a very New York story, but it is also a family story—especially Alicia’s relationship with her parents. I was hit hard emotionally in the second act and cried throughout most of it. That’s the thing about Broadway, if it’s done right. It hits you. It entertains you. And it moves you. All are good.
Way up in the nosebleed seats—literally, the last row of the balcony, the energy was electric. This was Easter week and school groups were everywhere. As we arrived at the top of the last flight of stairs, a young high school girl from Newark wanted to share with us that she was “traveling” and that this was her first show. I have to admit, I was just as thrilled to witness the response of the young students all around us, as they reacted to the show, quite possibly a life-changing experience for them, just as the main character, 17 year-old Ally has when she hears piano music for the first time.
I thought about the first time I went to a Broadway show with school. It was the 60’s and Man of La Mancha was playing. It was huge. My first year teaching English in the 70’s, we took the 9th grade students in to see Grease. I chuckled remembering how an angry teacher had come in late to the theater, show in progress, and walked down the aisle, followed sheepishly by the student who had been lost (he wandered off to a peep show) and then “found.” How times have changed. Not a peep show in sight at Times Square!
The performers were fantastic, even with new cast members (a few of the originals have left) and on a Wednesday afternoon there’s a good chance you’ll see some understudies. But, hey, it’s Broadway and they are all great!
We were lucky to run into that Newark girl at intermission and she was amazed.”I’m coming back to Broadway!” she told us, her eyes wide with excitement. That’s how they do it. A bunch of creative people puts together music, dance, drama, artistic set design and technology and it blows our minds. Again and again!
thanks for sharing.