If you were to close Alicia Keys ’ big semi-autobiographical musical on Broadway with any of her hit songs, which would it be? Of course, it has to be “Empire State of Mind.” That’s the natural one, right? It’s also as predictable as the R train being delayed with signal problems.
“Hell’s Kitchen,” the coming-of-age musical about a 17-year-old piano prodigy named Ali, has wonderful new and old tunes by the 16-time Grammy Award winner and a talented cast, but only a sliver of a very safe story that tries to seem more consequential than it is.
It wants to be authentic and gritty — a remarkable number of swear words are used, including 19 f-bombs — for what ultimately is a portrait of a young, talented woman living on the 42nd floor of a doorman building in Manhattan who relearns to love her protective mom.
The musical that opened Saturday at the Shubert Theatre features reworks of Keys’ best-known hits: “Fallin’,” “No One,” “Girl on Fire,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” as well as several new songs, including the terrific “Kaleidoscope.”
That Keys is a knockout songwriter, there is no doubt. That playwright Kristoffer Diaz is able to make a convincing, relatable rom-com that's also socially conscious is very much in doubt.
This is, appropriately, a woman-led show, with Maleah Joi Moon completely stunning in the lead role — a jaw-dropping vocalist who is funny, giggly, passionate and strident, a star turn. Shoshana Bean, who plays her single, spiky mom, makes her songs soar, while Kecia Lewis as a soulful piano teacher is the show's astounding MVP.
When we meet Ali, she's a frustrated teen who knows there's more to life and “something's calling me,” as she sings in the new song, “The River.” At first that's a boy: the sweet Chris Lee, playing a house painter. There's also reconnecting with her unreliable dad, a nicely slippery Brandon Victor Dixon. But the thing calling Ali is, of course, the grand piano in her building's multipurpose room.
Outside this apartment building in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood — we get a clue the time is the early 1990s — are “roaches and the rats/heroin in the cracks.” But no criminality is shown — at worst some illegal krumping? — and the cops don’t actually brutalize those citizens deemed undesirable. They sort of just shoo them away. This is a sanitized New York for the M&M store tourists, despite the lyrics in Keys’ songs.
Another reason the musical fails to fully connect is that a lot of the music played onstage is fake — it's actually the orchestra tucked into the sides making those piano scales and funky percussion. (Even the three bucket drummers onstage are mostly just pretending, which is a shame.) For a musical about a singular artist and how important music is, this feels a bit like a cheat.
Choreography by Camille A. Brown is muscular and fun using a hip-hop vocabulary, and director Michael Greif masterfully keeps things moving elegantly. But there's — forgive me — everything but the kitchen sink thrown in here: A supposed-to-be-funny chorus of two mom friends and two Ali friends, a ghost, some mild parental abuse and a weird fixation with dinner.
The way the songs are integrated is inspired, with “Girl on Fire” hysterically interrupted by rap bars, “Fallin’” turned into a humorously seductive ballad and "No One” transformed from an achy love song to a mother-daughter anthem.
But everyone is waiting for that song about “concrete jungles” where “big lights will inspire you.” It comes right after we see a young woman snuggling on a couch, high over the city she will soon conquer. You can, too, if you just go past the doorman and follow your dreams.
Follow Mark Kennedy online.
This image released by Polk & Co shows the poster of "Hell's Kitchen" show on Broadway. (Marc J. Franklin/ Polk & Co via AP)
This image released by Polk & Co shows the artists during a performance of "Hell's Kitchen" on Broadway. (Marc J. Franklin/ Polk & Co via AP)
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerians voted Saturday in an election to decide whether army-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune gets another term in office — five years after pro-democracy protests prompted the military to oust the previous president after two decades in power.
There is little suspense about the result with Tebboune expected to win easily. The question is more about how many voters cast ballots.
Tebboune said after voting that he hoped “whoever wins will continue on the path towards a point of no return in the construction of democracy.”
Polls closed late Saturday and vote counting was underway as Algerians awaited an announcement of the results. The country's election authority at 12:10 a.m. said that vote counting to so far suggested voter turnout was 48% in Algeria and 19.6% for precincts abroad — outpacing the country’s 2019 presidential election, where 39.9% of voters turned out to vote.
It's unclear whether Tebboune will consider such a figure a triumph. In the lead-up to Saturday, his backers and rivals all urged Algerians to come out and vote after boycotts and high abstention rates in previous elections marred the government's ability to claim popular support.
Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world's population.
The campaign — rescheduled earlier this year to take place during North Africa's hot summer — was characterized by apathy from the population, which continues to be plagued by a high cost of living and drought that brought water shortages to some parts of the country.
“Uncle Tebboune," as his campaign called the 78-year-old, was elected in December 2019 after nearly a year of weekly “Hirak” demonstrations demanding the resignation of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Their demands were met when Bouteflika resigned and was replaced by an interim government of his former allies, which called for elections later in the year.
Protesters opposed holding elections so soon, fearing the candidates running that year were close to the old regime and would derail dreams of a civilian-led, non-military state. Tebboune, a former prime minister seen as close to the military, won. But his victory was stained by boycotts and election day tumult.
Throughout his tenure, Tebboune has used oil and gas revenue to boost some social benefits — including unemployment insurance as well as public wages and pensions — to calm discontent. To cement his legitimacy, Tebboune hopes more of the country's 24 million eligible voters participate in Saturday's election than in his first election when only 39.9% voted.
Many Algerians remain unconvinced that elections will usher in change.
Activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, have railed against how authorities continue prosecuting those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups.
Some have denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.
“Algerians don’t give a damn about this bogus election,” said former Hirak leader Hakim Addad, who was banned from participating in politics three years ago. “The political crisis will persist as long as the regime remains in place. The Hirak has spoken.”
Twenty-six candidates submitted preliminary paperwork to run in the election, although only two were ultimately approved to challenge Tebboune.
Both avoided directly criticizing Tebboune on the campaign trail and, like the incumbent, emphasized election participation.
Abdelali Hassani Cherif, a 57-year-old head of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace, made populist appeals to Algerian youth, running on the slogan “Opportunity!” Youcef Aouchiche, a 41-year-old former journalist running with the Socialist Forces Front, or FFS, campaigned on a “vision for tomorrow.”
Both challengers and their parties risked losing backing from supporters who thought they were selling out by giving the impression the election was democratic and contested.
Walking near a vote center in downtown Algiers, longtime FFS supporter Mhand Kasdi said his party had betrayed its ideals by putting forth a candidate for the first time since 1999.
“It is giving its backing to a rigged election,” the 55-year-old gas station manager said, adding that Aouchiche and Hassani “are going to help make the regime's candidate look good."
Voting in his hometown Saturday, Aouchiche called on Algerians to vote for him “to give young people the confidence to put an end to the despair that drives them to take the boats of death in an attempt to reach the other side of the Mediterranean,” referring to those who migrate to Europe.
Andrew Farrand, the Middle East and North Africa director at the geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage, said both challengers were looking more at the 2025 legislative elections than this 2024 presidential contest. Because Algerian law funds political parties based on the number of seats they win in legislative elections, they hope campaigning now positions them for a strong 2025 performance.
“It’s a long game: How can I mobilize my base? How can I build up a campaign machine? And how can I get into the good graces of the authorities so that I can be in a position to increase my seats?” he said. “We’ve seen that in their choice not to overtly criticize president … paired with a very strong message to Algerians to come out and vote.”
Presidential candidate of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Abdelali Hassani Cherif, prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Presidential candidate of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Abdelali Hassani Cherif, prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Presidential candidate and leader of the FFS party, Youcef Aouchich, casts his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria. (AP Photo)
Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune speaks after casting his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo)
Election officials wait for voters inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
A voter prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
A voter prepares to cast her ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
A voter prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Ballots showing presidential candidates inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
A ballot showing Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune, inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Ballots showing the three presidential candidates are placed on a table inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
A voter prepares to cast her ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Election officials wait for voters inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
A voter poses for a photo with her inked finger after casting her ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
CORRECTS DATE - A voter prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
A man walks past electoral banners of presidential candidate, including President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, center, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune delivers a speech during his campaign for the upcoming presidential election, in Oran, Algeria, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
