Wow. What a captivating, energizing & fun piece of theatre. From the mind of Alicia Keys comes the semi-autobiographical story of a girl named Ali. A 17-year-old girl on the verge of discovering her dreams & what her life could be. I loved this one. It brought me back to life in the ’90s and early 2000s instead of a piano gave me a pen and paper and it's almost the same.

💛 | The struggles of living with an overbearing single parent, finding young love, and figuring out what kind of life you want to lead. It was all so relatable cause I too am a girl named Ally who grew up in New York City. Maleah Joi Moon & Kecia Lewis shone and were deserving of those Tony Award wins. Kecia reminds me so much of my mom on that stage as Miss Liza Jane. I cried a few times as she made me miss her quite a lot. I didn't get to see Shoshana Bean that day but I experienced Donna Vivino and holy cow she's exceptional. The lungs on that woman. Wow. Shower her with so much love. She deserves.

I know some took issue with the book. I see it like this. This is how our stories are told. This is how we speak. I saw nothing wrong with how this story is told. What New York story do you know that's perfect? Ok then. I found myself back in a time for 3 hours. Any piece of art that can do that is a win in my eyes.
The set design was beautiful. Those elevator moments were so lovely. The orchestra was amazing as well. Hearing so many different arrangments of songs I've loved for years was such a treat.

It is not only the sorta-kinda story of one of our greatest talents but also a love letter to Hell’s Kitchen. It's a love letter to New York. It's a love letter to those who come here to make their dreams a reality. There is no place like New York City and it's very true that if you can make it here you can make it anywhere.

Go see Hell’s Kitchen. Go fall in love with New York all over again (or for the first time!). I know I'll be back.

@hellskitchenbway

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