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Hell’s Kitchen, the critically acclaimed musical featuring the songs of Alicia Keys, is coming to Greensboro.
The show recording won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album last year. Nominated for 13 Tony awards, the Broadway production took two in 2024.
Now this semi-autobiographical jukebox musical is on the road, and a member of the cast said he feels that descriptor, which also applies to productions like “MJ” and “Jersey Boys,” may be a little unfair.
“This is not a bunch of different songs from different people smushed together,” said JonAvery Worrell, who plays the main character’s love interest. “It’s really a consecutive catalog of Alicia Keys that completely serves the story. Like every song is completely tailored to the story, which I think is uncommon with traditional jukebox musicals.”
“Hell’s Kitchen” is the story of 17-year-old Ali, who is coming of age in Manhattan in the 1990s. Characters include her neighbors, many of whom are musicians; her girlfriends, and her overprotective mother.
There’s also Knuck, played by Worrell on his first major show tour. He sees a lot of himself in the role.
“Knuck is a young man who’s literally so petrified of making mistakes in his everyday life because - you know, as a young Black man there are a lot of societal tropes that we see in the show through his character arc, especially with police brutality.
“You know, a young man trying to survive, you know, trying to provide for himself, falling in love, being afraid to be hurt, being afraid to be involved with someone, dealing with heartbreak, dealing with disappointment. These are all areas that I’ve either seen or experienced.”
Worrell is relatively new to the stage. His credits include the Kirk Franklin holiday film for Lifetime, “The Night Before Christmas,” and the BET+ drama “The Despaired.”
“Broadway’s always been something I - honestly, growing up, I thought was for like the best of the best actors, the best of the best singers, like because there’s no help when it comes to this stuff.
“On stage there’s no AutoTune, there’s no – it’s live. Everything is live. And a lot of my experience is definitely TV and film where it’s kinda stop and start, or, you know, cut copy and paste.”
He decided to expand his horizons after his dear friend Ilario Grant won a place as a standby in the Broadway production of “MJ” and went on to play the lead in the Australian company.
“Seeing him on Broadway shine in that way was an unimaginably inspiring experience,” said Worrell.
So he tried for a part in “The Wiz.” It didn’t go well.
“When I tell you I bombed ‘The Wiz’ audition? I mean, bombed it. Like I asked myself, like, can I sing? It was ridiculous!”
But after taking some time to recover, he went for and won a part in the national theatrical tour of “Jason’s Lyric,” which he credits with preparing him for this major production of “Hell’s Kitchen.”
And he does have a history with the music of Alicia Keys.
“My first date with a girl was in the car, in my mother’s car, and I’m playing ‘My Boo,’ singing along with Alicia Keys and Usher to try to impress this little girl. Then we never even went on a second date.”
He said he was crushed but the experience has served him well.
“It’s a part of the process. It’s life. This is what builds these characters.”
Hell’s Kitchen runs Feb. 24 – Mar. 1 at the Tanger Center, One Abe Brenner Place/300 N. Elm St., Greensboro. Tickets and more information are available at tangercenter.com or by calling (336) 333-6500.
