Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. We are live in The Greene Space in SoHo with a special edition of All Of It for you today. For the next hour, we'll be joined by the cast and creative team of Broadway's Hell's Kitchen, the musical, but inspired by Alicia Keys growing up here in New York City, which opened on Broadway one year ago this month. Happy anniversary.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Today we're going to hear from some amazing performers. Jade Milan, who plays the lead Ali is here. Jessica Vosk, who plays Ali's mom Jersey, R&B hitmaker, Tank, who plays Ali's dad Davis, and the Tony award winner for her role, Ali's mentor, Kecia Lewis, will join us as well.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Because a Broadway musical can't happen without its creative team, hanging out with us throughout the hour will be the pros behind the show. Adam Blackstone is the music supervisor for Hell's Kitchen. Hey, heard that. He'll be here as a prolific songwriter and producer. He's also playing bass today. We also have Hell's Kitchen musical consultant Tom Kitt, whose Broadway credits are too many to count, including Jagged Little Pill, American Idiot, Next to Normal, which won him a Pulitzer.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: We have our audience in studio today. If you would like to see it live, you're listening on the radio, go to wnyc.org to watch the livestream. That is all ahead, but now to kick things off with some music, here is the star of Broadway's Hell's Kitchen, Jade Milan with a performance of The River, live in The Greene Space.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: The River]

I'm alone in a corner of a one-room apartment

Dirty windows let the light in through my fingers

And make patterns on the carpet

Heavy footsteps on the ceiling

And the sirens in the distance

Drowning sound of playing children

I'm alone here in a crowd of seven million

I know there's more to life than this

'Cause something's calling me

So I follow the river

So I follow the river

And I'm gonna catch the wind

'Cause I'm dying to begin

Follow the river

There's a heartbeat out on these streets

Yeah, there's a bonfire that's set alight inside me

There's no army that can stop me

Watch how strong I'm gonna be

When they said I couldn't be

I know there's more to life than this

'Cause something's calling me

So I follow the river

So follow the river

And I'm gonna catch the wind

'Cause I'm dying to begin

Follow the river

Follow the river

Follow the river

I know there's more to life than this

'Cause something's calling me

[applause]

Alison Stewart: So beautiful. That was Jade Milan, star of Broadway's Hell's Kitchen. We're live in The Greene Space with Jade. We're going to bring up musical consultant Adam Blackstone, and Tom Kitt. All right.

Adam Blackstone: How are you?

Alison Stewart: I'm good. I'm good. Let's get our little situation around here.

Adam Blackstone: Give it up for Jade Milan one more time, y'all.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Adam, we just heard the song The River that was written specifically for the show. When and why and how did you decide that certain songs like The River needed to be written specifically for Hell's Kitchen?

Adam Blackstone: I think that our incredible boss, Alicia Keys-

[applause]

Adam Blackstone: -composer, lyricist, producer, she has been working on this project, I don't know how many who know this, but for about 12 years now. I was brought in 9 years ago, and she said to me, "I'm going to make my music into a play." I said, "What?" Because I see we have all ages, all races in here. She has some of our favorite songs that we just listen to on the radio, we put the CD on, we go to our Spotify playlist, whatever the playlist may be, and just listen, but when you think about a song like The River, or you're thinking about some of the songs that we're going to sing today, If I Ain't Got You, we think about No One, we think about Girl on Fire, when you see our show, you think about it from a different perspective.

You're not thinking about it from the musician side. She actually had foresight from 25 years ago to tell a story through her music that is still very relevant. So a song like The River, which was in her stash, I would say, really speaks about-- It might not be one of the more popular songs of hers, but it was in her writing stash, and she brought it out specifically for the show because it speaks about her dreams and aspirations that she was feeling as a young woman growing up in New York City, where she feels like the chaos of the city did not cloud her judgment on the entirety of the genius that she had in her.

Sometimes we just need that one inspirational thing to look out the window, for God to inspire us, for there to be a higher calling, and for this, and at that time in her life, and now for Ali, it was the Hudson River.

Alison Stewart: When you were thinking about putting that in the show, Tom, where were you thinking it should go? How did you think it should be performed within the show? You were the music supervisor.

Tom Kitt: Well, I think that what's so wonderful about it is it does what you want that kind of song in a musical to do. It happens early on in the show, usually in the second slot in the show, which is when it occurs, and it's what we often call an I want song for a musical, where the protagonist declares in beautiful tones, as you just heard, their dreams, their wishes, their hopes, their aspirations. It's amazing to hear Adam talk about that. It was a song that had been brewing, had been in Alicia's repertoire to come out for the perfect moment. It was already a part of the show when I came on to Hell's Kitchen in 2023, and I was so struck by how perfectly it works as a musical theater song. That's what's amazing.

Alison Stewart: I was going to ask, why does it work as an I want song?

Adam Blackstone: Also, I have to say, Tom Kitt can turn anything into a I want song.

[laughter]

Adam Blackstone: He's the best in the world. So go ahead.

Tom Kitt: That's huge praise coming from Adam Blackstone. I just want to let that sit for a second. Lyrically, it does. It expresses a want, a desire, a need to get to a certain place. Musicals, we track someone's journey from that moment to the end and see if those dreams are attained, and then, of course, musically, it allows for the beautiful voice, for notes that mean something, for soaring melodies, so that the listener can get inside of those dreams and root for the character over the course of the show.

Alison Stewart: What does The River mean to you when you sing it every night, Jade?

Jade Milan: For me, I think it's a reminder of the tagline of our show, remember where dreams begin. For me, playing the character, it reminds me of what Ali's desire is, what it's rooted out of. She understands that there is something that is, like Adam said, there's something greater on the inside of her that's calling her, that's beckoning her to rise to a level that she's never known before. I think that it's a perfect reminder because it is the second song of the show. It's the perfect reminder for me as Ali, because it reminds me to dig deeper and to go after the dimensions that are calling Ali within the story itself. For me, it's just a reminder to stay true to the stakes. Does that make sense?

Alison Stewart: Yes.

Jade Milan: The stakes are high, and she's set on going after what's calling her. I think, for me, it sets my eyes on the bigger thing that's calling Ali and to chase that and to inform all of my choices and decisions as an actor with my scene partners to settle that in the foundation of, we're going after the bigger thing. What is the bigger thing? What is the thing that's calling you? What's inside of you? You go after that. For me, that's my reminder.

Alison Stewart: It's a good reminder for you because you just became Ali at the beginning of this month, after understanding your role.

[applause]

Adam Blackstone: If you haven't seen Jade Milan on Broadway at the Shubert Theater, please go see that. It is otherworldly. Her voice and her acting carry us to a emotional place every night. Please go support this young woman.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: How has your routine changed since becoming Ali?

Jade Milan: [laughs] It's been a whole new world. I think we were just talking about it in the back a little bit. It has required a new level of vocal discipline, of intentionality in my day, because as a understudy, there's a level of uncertainty because you never know when you're going to go on unless you have scheduled shows like I did every other week, but when you know that you are going on every single night, there's a different level of, again, I can't say too much, intentionality. Intentionality in what you eat, the way that you're talking, the times that you eat, the times that you talk. You know what I mean?

Alison Stewart: Yes.

Jade Milan: It is literally-- I say this all the time, I'm in a student seat. No matter where I am, I try to stay in a student seat, so I am letting the role tell me what I need. That's on a day to day basis because the voice changes from day to day. I just try to go with whatever my voice says it needs that day. If I need a little extra sleep, then we're pressing snooze.

[laughter]

Jade Milan: We just try to work with whatever the requirement is for that day.

Alison Stewart: Tom or Adam, what happens when you bring a new actor into the role?

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Go for it, Tom.

Tom Kitt: The most thrilling thing about this art form is that musicals, they live in the world, and you get to see great artists come to material and how it lives in someone else's artistry. I think that's one of the greatest things that we get to experience as creators, to see all of the ways that our work can speak to different artists.

Adam Blackstone: I'm scared every time.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: For real?

Adam Blackstone: Yes. This is my baby. It's like getting a new nanny.

[laughter]

Adam Blackstone: You want to stay with the nanny for a week, but you have to relinquish those moments and trust yourself with who we have chosen. It's a great nanny analogy as well.

[laughter]

Adam Blackstone: You've got to trust yourself. Then the team around us, I must say, the Hell's Kitchen entire team, not just Tom, not just Mandy and Aaron and the Shubert Theater, but everybody believes in Jade. Everybody believes in my boy Tank. Everybody believes in Jess and the amazing Kecia Lewis. It's like when we pick a new person, it's because they have what it takes to fulfill that role. I've been seeing Alice almost for a decade, and I never think that it can get better. Each show I go to, I'm just amazed by the connectivity of the music to the character, to the actor or actresses. It's really, really good.

Alison Stewart: We'll have more with the team from Hell's Kitchen. This is All Of It, live from The Greene Space. Stay with us.

[applause]

[music]

Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart. Ooh, that was a bass.

Adam Blackstone: Oh, yes.

Alison Stewart: Yes, it was. We are live in The Greene Space at WNYC with the cast and creative team from Hell's Kitchen. This is a listening party live. If you're listening to this on the radio, jump on a computer and head to wnyc.org to watch a live stream. On stage with me, we have actress Jessica Vosk. You know her as Elphaba, you know her as Waitress. She plays Ali's overprotective mom in Hell's Kitchen, Jersey. Give it up.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Also with us, R&B singer and actor, Tank, who plays Ali's dad in the show, Davis. Nice to see you.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Let's get to some more music. Here's Jessica Vosk and Tank with Fallin' by Alicia Keys, from Hell's Kitchen.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: Fallin']

I keep on fallin'

In and out of love

With you

Sometimes I love you

Sometimes you make me blue

Sometimes I feel good

At times I feel used

Loving you, darlin'

Makes me so confused

I keep on fallin'

In and out of love

I never loved someone

The way that I love you

Oh, oh, never felt this way

How do you give me so much pleasure

And 'cause me so much pain?

Just when I think

Just when I think

I've taken more than would a fool

More than would a fool

I start fallin' back in love with you

I keep on fallin'

In and out of love with you

I never loved someone

The way that I love you

I keep on fallin'

In and out of love with you

I never loved someone

The way that I love you

Fall, fall, fall

I keep on fallin'

In and out of love with you

I never loved someone

The way that I love you

I keep on fallin'

In and out of love with you

I never loved someone

The way that I love you

[applause]

Alison Stewart: That was Jessica Vosk and Tank of Broadway's show Hell's Kitchen with Fallin'. We are here in The Greene Space with a remix. Adam Blackstone and Tom Kitt are also with me. Jessica.

Jessica Vosk: Ma'am.

[laughter]

Jessica Vosk: Yes, ma'am.

Alison Stewart: Why did you want to take on the role of Jersey?

Jessica Vosk: Oh, gosh. Number one, and I remember having this conversation when I had the chance to meet Alicia. I had said to her, same thing that Adam just said. I had asked her if she wrote her catalog with Broadway in mind. Because growing up, I'm in my 40s, and--

Adam Blackstone: You look good, Jersey girl.

Jessica Vosk: Adam. Adam.

Adam Blackstone: You're looking good, Jersey girl.

Jessica Vosk: Oh my God. When I grew up, it was like MTV was videos, right? When Alicia would put a video out, boy, could she tell a story with a video. Remember when You Don't Know My Name came out, and the diner, I'll never forget that video. I walked in, and when we met and had a little meeting and got to sing together, I'd asked her that question. When you wrote these songs, did you know it would wind up in a musical? She said no, but what a great storyteller. That's number one. Number two, it's real fun to sing. I call this the most unbroadway, Broadway show.

It's pop, it's R&B. You get to really flex those muscles. You're not doing what I like to call the jazz hands. I'm used to Elphaba. I'm used to being able to belt and straight tone in a Broadway way. This is fun to do because it gets you to flex a different muscle. Then you really do get a lot of creative liberty from these creatives, which is also not a typical Broadway thing. That's number two. Then number three, while I'm not a mom, I believe I get a lot of what I bring to Jersey from my own mom, who's tough, but I also think that moms are many things at once. They're extremely nuanced. They're tough. They might want to kill their kid, but they'll also lay in traffic for them.

They're full of love and hurt and vulnerability, but they'll also read you the riot act if need be. It's a very, very amazing role to take on and play because there's a lot to have fun with in the sandbox.

Alison Stewart: Tank, it's your Broadway debut.

Jessica Vosk: That's right.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Why did you want to join the Broadway community?

Tank: What's crazy is that I didn't.

[laughter]

Tank: You know what I mean?

Alison Stewart: Yes.

Tank: It wasn't on my bingo card at all. Alicia Keys and Adam called and said, "Hey, man, we got this thing that we want you to be a part of." Just out of respect for the name, you show up. When you see Alicia Keys, whatever it is, you just pull up and you ask questions later. I said, "Okay, I'll come. I'll see what all of this is about." I said, "Well, let me see it first to see what I'm walking into." I went and watched a play the day before my audition, and I fell in love, and I said, "If I'm going to do Broadway, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to do this thing right here."

Being part of this has completely changed my perception and perspective in terms of what Broadway really is. I think they were hating just a little bit to keep me out of here, you know what I'm saying? "Oh, you don't want to do Broadway, Tank, it ain't for you." This is for me, man. This is for me.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Tom, that song is so different than how any of us ever heard it. We love it, but it's just so different. Is he making faces? Why is he making faces?

Adam Blackstone: What?

Tom Kitt: Yes, and I agree. I'm throwing because what Adam and Alicia made, reinventing it as a jazz waltz that then I got to come in and get to orchestrate with Adam, every time I hear it, it's so satisfying and gives you what you love and what you know, and then takes you on this whole other journey, which is--

Adam Blackstone: As we were looking for orchestrators, I don't know why we were, because Tom Kitt is the best. I'm going to keep saying that. I had to prep him. Each time I was about to play a song I was like, "Okay, this is what I did to this song." I'm like, "Okay, here's what I did to this ballad." I think that it's crazy, the through line about Tank now being on Broadway, about this song Fallin'. Alicia always was very vocal about that Davis character almost being a crooner, R&B Sammy Davis meets meets Marvin type of crooning. Not only vocalists, but father figure as well. As we go to these star calls, in these roundtables, for those who don't know, Tank is R&B royalty.

[applause]

Adam Blackstone: I put him up there with Boyz II Men. I put him up there with Babyface, I put him up there with John Legend. Those are the names that were coming out. I put him up there. As soon as I said it, Alicia's face lit up. Instagram is the new resume. We go on there, it's this handsome guy, he's still singing, he's in shape. Then we heard him sing. I think you sang on R&B Money podcast, a Babyface song with Face or something, and it was like, "That's who we need." I'm so thankful that he came through. I'm so thankful that these songs are able to be flipped enough to even resonate to a modern day artist and then the viewer, the viewing audience as well, when you think you're about to hear Fallin', your favorite song from Alicia Keys, it tells a whole nother story with mother and father.

Jessica Vosk: It's the one I hear about the most from fans in my inbox-

Alison Stewart: Oh, interesting.

Jessica Vosk: -is, wow, number one, the chorus, they sped it up. Oh my gosh. It's this fantastic jazz waltz, and also just that scene itself speaks to Adam saying it's so different, because it's what most people at least slide into my DMs with after every show.

Tank: Slide.

Alison Stewart: I have a dumb question I'm going to ask you, Tom. When you said you had to orchestrate it, what does that mean?

Tom Kitt: Orchestration is basically, in Broadway, writing all of the instrumental parts out. Some orchestrations on Broadway are small chamber ensembles. Some in days past, we had 30, 40 piece orchestrations. I wish I could have a 30 piece orchestration someday. For Hell's Kitchen, we built it with the rhythm section, and then when we went to Broadway, we expanded the orchestration to include strings and horns, which was really exciting. One of my favorite things about this orchestration is, as you've heard, Adam Blackstone is a virtuoso, one of the most incredible instrumentalists I've ever heard and been around, and I had the great pleasure of transcribing Adam's original bass part into the ink, as we call it. Just getting to listen to how he plays the bass and all of the tonalities that he finds, is a masterclass of itself.

Adam Blackstone: Can y'all tell we love each other? [laughs]

[applause]

Adam Blackstone: Thank you, Tom.

Alison Stewart: One of the things I think that's so interesting about you, Jessica, is you used to work on Wall Street, for people who didn't know.

Jessica Vosk: Yes, I did.

Adam Blackstone: You did?

Jessica Vosk: Sure did.

Adam Blackstone: I just found this out too. I didn't know this either.

Jessica Vosk: Yes, I did.

Alison Stewart: What was the moment you were like, "That's it. I'm done."

Jessica Vosk: I was telling Thomas earlier, I didn't go to school for theater. I sang as a kid growing up. I'm a big sight reader. Loved choir, loved blending, loved tone, loved harmony. I became obsessed with it, but I wanted to make my parents proud. So when I graduated school, it was with investor relations, and I worked in New York for three years in Wall Street capacity. I didn't listen to any music. I didn't sing anything. I didn't see any shows. I kept it all down because I think there's a part of our subconscious when we aren't doing what we love, I know I like to shut that piece off.

It's like if I don't see it, it doesn't exist. That manifested in anxiety and stress. One day I decided to take a leap of faith. It helped that the market crashed in '08, but we'll talk about that later.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Oh.

Jessica Vosk: I took a leap of faith, and I left that job without a safety net. I just pounded the pavement for a while until I got heard. I'd show up at jazz clubs, I'd go sing and put my name on a list and hope they would see me by 2:00 AM and go back to work again. Finally things started to happen. I've been in this business for only 10 years, and it's been a wild, wild ride, but to get to be here doing this, I keep reminding myself how lucky I am, because I know what it was like to not do something that I love.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: We're going to bring Jade on stage. Jade and Jess are going to switch places, and I'm going to give this one to Tank while we get settled. Tank, we're about to hear, there you go, there you go, If I Ain't Got You. Could you set this up for us where we hear this in the show?

Tank: Oh, yes, this is a great moment in the show. I've just come from Jersey girl's house, who's my ex-girlfriend, who I have Jade with. I was being there for her because she needed me, because Jade was getting wild. Ali was getting wild, and so she was like, "Hey, come help me with our daughter." I show up, and in this space where you just see the song we just sang, I'm kind of seducing a little bit. I'm the shoulder to cry on, but I also remember how we used to-- Amen.

[laughter]

Tank: In me trying to get that back, now I make this turn, the next scene, and go see my daughter, who's downstairs in what we call the Ellington room playing the piano. I sneak in on her because she doesn't know that I'm there, and I start playing the piano, then we have this moment in song where it feels like we're getting ready to really, really reconnect. That's all I'm going to tell you, because if you haven't seen this show, you have to. This is a great, great part of the show where you might not like me so much, you know what I'm saying? You might not be feeling [unintelligible 00:29:40] but I want you to see it.

Alison Stewart: Here's Tank and Jade Milan with If I Ain't Got You. We're live in The Greene Space with the team from Hell's Kitchen.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: If I Ain't Got You]

Mmm, mmm, mmm,

Some people live for the fortune

Some people live just for the fame

Some people live for the power, yeah

Some people live just to play the game

Some people think

That the physical things

Define what's within

And I've been there before

But that life's a bore

So full of the superficial

Some people want it all

But I don't want nothing at all

If it ain't you, baby

If I ain't got you, baby

Some people want diamond rings

Some just want everything

But everything means nothing

If I ain't got you

Tank: Is it coming back to you? Not even a little bit?

Jade Milan: Not even a little bit.

Tank: Whatever. I'm going to keep going. Watch this.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: If I Ain't Got You]

Some people search for a--

Tank: They're looking for something.

Jade Milan: It's a fountain.

Tank: Fountain. I knew she knew the song.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: If I Ain't Got You]

Promises forever--

Jade Milan: Oh my God. Young. Young?

Tank: Young.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: If I Ain't Got You]

Some people need three dozen roses

And that's the only way to prove you love them

Tank: Too late. I heard you. You might as well come on.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: If I Ain't Got You]

Hand me the world

On a silver platter

And what good would it be?

And no one to share

No one who truly cares for me

Some people want it all

But I don't want nothing at all

If it ain't you, baby

If I ain't got you, baby

Some people want diamond rings

Some just want everything

But everything means nothing

If I ain't got you, you, you

Some people want it all

But I don't want nothing at all

If it ain't you, baby

If I ain't got you, baby

Some people want diamond rings

Some just want everything

But everything means nothing

If I ain't got you,

If I ain't got you with me, baby

Tank: [unintelligible 00:33:58]

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: If I Ain't Got You]

See nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing

If I ain't got you with me, baby

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Tank and Jade Milan from Broadway's Hell's Kitchen, If I Ain't Got You. We'll be right back with more music from Kecia Lewis, live from The Greene Space.

[music]

Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm in The Greene Space at WNYC with the cast and the creative team from Hell's Kitchen.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: This is a special live listening party. If you're listening on the radio, you can watch by going to wnyc.org. I am joined now for the final performance, Tony winner Kecia Lewis. Kecia plays Ali's mentor, Miss Liza Jane. The role earned her a Tony for best featured actress last year.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: She's also received an Outer Critics Circle award, a Lucille Lortel award, an Obie award for this performance. Please welcome Kecia Lewis.

[applause]

Kecia Lewis: Here we go.

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: Perfect Way to Die]

Simple walk to the corner store

Mama never thought she would be gettin' a call from the coroner

Said her son's been gunned down, been gunned down

"Can you come now?"

Tears in her eyes, "Can you calm down?

Please, ma'am, can you calm down?"

It rained fire in the city that day, they say

A river of blood in the streets

No love in the streets

But then came silence from the city that day, they say

Just another one gone

And the city moved on

She's stuck there, singing

"Baby, don't you close your eyes

'Cause this could be our final time

And you know I'm horrible at saying goodbye

When I think of all you could have done

At least you'll stay forever young

I guess you picked the perfect way to die

Oh, I guess you picked the perfect way to die"

New job, new city, new her

Bright-eyed, you would have been proud if you knew her

Flashing lights in the mirror, "Pull over, pull over"

A couple nights in detention and it's over, a whole life's over

They came marching in the city that day, they say

Carrying signs in the streets

Crying eyes in the streets

But they heard nothing from the city that day, they say

Just another one gone

And the city moved on

We're stuck here singing

"Baby, don't you close your eyes

'Cause this could be our final time

And you know I'm horrible at saying goodbye

When I think of all you could have done

At least you'll stay forever young

I guess you picked the perfect way to die

Oh, I guess you picked the perfect way to die"

Another dream lost

Another king and queen lost

Another broken promise they refuse to make right

Another night to live in fear

Another night that you're not here

Another reason to get out there and fight

But I say, "Baby, don't you close your eyes

'Cause this could be our final time

And you know I'm horrible at saying goodbye

When I think of all you could have done

At least you'll stay forever young

I guess you picked the perfect way to die

Oh, I guess you picked the perfect"

[applause]

Alison Stewart: That was Kecia Lewis from Broadway's Hell's Kitchen. This is part of our special live broadcast from The Greene Space. Not only are you a tremendous singer, you can see what a tremendous actor you are in that song. Where do you pull from the emotion for that song?

Kecia Lewis: It's actually kind of easy, unfortunately, because of the world that we live in right now. My son and I, I was a single parent from the time he was 8 years old, and so raising a Black boy in New York is terrifying. All I have to do is remember what it was like. He's 21 now, but literally, I tease him and say, "I have knees like a camel. The way I prayed for you." They are wrinkled and crusty because of all the prayer. That's real. Your child, a young Black boy walks out of the house to go to school-

Alison Stewart: I have a 16-year-old at home.

Kecia Lewis: -you don't know if they're going to come back okay, so you pray a lot and you teach them how to be in this world so that they do come home. That he does not have the privilege of having anger at authority figures if they're treating him unfairly. He doesn't have that privilege. That is where it pulls from, and everything that goes on in the world. I see all the faces when I do the show. Sometimes I pick one. Sometimes I see them all, from Sandra Bland to Eric Garner to Trayvon Martin, and the list goes on.

Alison Stewart: You are the original member of the original team of Hell's Kitchen that's here today?

Kecia Lewis: Kind of, sort of.

Alison Stewart: Sort of. How did you first get involved with Hell's Kitchen?

Kecia Lewis: I've known our director, Michael Greif, for over 30 years.

Alison Stewart: He's a wonderful director, by the way.

Kecia Lewis: A wonderful director.

[applause]

Kecia Lewis: Michael sent me an email and said, "I'm working on something, and I think there's a role for you here, and I'd love you--" At this time, we were not even back in person yet from COVID. He said, "We're going to do a little reading online, and I'd love for you to join." He said, "I'll send you the script, see what you think." I thought, "This is a great part. I'd love to read it." We were online, so we did that and it went well. Then he reached out again maybe about two, three months later and said, "We're going to do another reading, but what you need to know is that this is loosely based on Alicia Keys, so Alicia will be on the Zoom."

[laughter]

Kecia Lewis: Say what now? Thankfully, she had her screen blacked out so we wouldn't freak out, but it felt like that was the audition process. She needed to hear me. Then I've been in theater industry for over 40 years now, and she is not from that world, so then Michael called me and he said, "This may sound a little insulting, but Alicia doesn't know you, so we need you to sing and just make a video of yourself singing Perfect Way To Die." Because it was easy to pull from what I needed to sing, it was a one take, and I got the job.

[applause]

Alison Stewart: What's been special or interesting to you about seeing this show evolve from being down at the Public to being on Broadway?

Kecia Lewis: The theater process, I've been in it for so long and I've done a lot of things over the years, and every process is a little different. This one, this was the first one for me that because we had the cachet of Alicia Keys, it was a little different just in terms of the excitement. Usually there's a little bit of, "Oh, God, is it going to go? Oh, God, is it going to work? Oh, God, am I going to have a job tomorrow?" This one didn't feel like that. There was always this kind of freedom and creativity. Like Jess said so eloquently, we have freedom in this show that's not like every Broadway show.

This is the first Broadway show-- This is 11 for me. This is the first Broadway show where I've had vocal freedom, where I could say, "Can I try this, can I try that?" Alicia's generosity, she's a brand. She could just say, "Do what I did because it worked." You know what I mean? She doesn't do that. She says, "Let me hear what you got. Oh, let's try this, let's play with that. Oh, what you did was perfect right there. Keep that." The process and that being celebrated off Broadway and on Broadway, it's been tremendous. It's been tremendous.

Alison Stewart: Did you have someone like Miss Liza Jane in your life?

Kecia Lewis: I had several. I had several. I'm going to try not to get messy. I'm a crier. I've had several Miss Liza Janes in my life. There were some Mr. Liza Janes in my life, and I have all their pictures on my phone, one right behind the other. When I need to look at them and remind myself, all these teachers, all these family members that poured into me when I was a knucklehead kid and knew that I had something special but not quite sure what it was or how to handle it, those people helped guide me and mold me and shape me. I have several. It's a privilege to play this role to pay tribute to all of our Miss Liza Janes. All of us have a mentor or three or five or seven.

Alison Stewart: Kecia Lewis, thank you so much. All right, we're going to go out on one more song. I'm going to bring Jade and Jessica back on stage from Hell's Kitchen. They are going to perform No One. This is Jessica Vosk and Jade Milan.

[applause]

[MUSIC - Alicia Keys: No One]

I just want you close

Where you can stay forever

You can be sure

That it will only get better

You and me together

Through the days and nights

I don't worry 'cause

Everything's gonna be all right

People keep talking, they can say what they like

But all I know is everything's gonna be alright

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you

Can get in the way of what I feel

When the rain is pouring down

And my heart is hurting

You will always be around

But this I know for certain

You and me together

Through the days and nights

I don't worry 'cause

Everything's gonna be all right

People keep talking, they can say what they like

But all I know is everything's gonna be all right

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel

I know some people search the world

To find something like what we have

I know people will try, try to divide something so real

So 'til the end of time, I'm telling you there ain't no one

No one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel for you

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (no one)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Can get in the way of what I feel for you

[applause]

Alison Stewart: Hell's Kitchen, everybody, live from The Greene Space. Our huge thanks to Jessica Vosk, Tank, Kecia Lewis, Adam Blackstone, Jade Milan, we appreciate you all coming out to join us. Thanks so much. Thank you, guys.

Tank: I love you so much.