Alicia Keys Failed Stage Project

11 December 2011

If you have wondered where Alicia Keys has been recently, she has been working on a Broadway play called Stick Fly that she both produced and scored.

Unfortunately the singers foray onto the stage didn't work out as well as her musical pursuits have- with many critics panning the show, saying that it "comes up short" in both its attempt at comedy and drama.

Stick Fly is a play written by Lydia R. Diamond, which follows two African American brothers who choose the same weekend to bring their girlfriends home to meet the parents.

The dramatic aspect of the play comes when one of the brothers surprises the family by bringing home a white girl, sparking intense debate around class and race.

The production which is produced and scored by Keys, opened on Thursday (8 December)- but has so far failed to meet critics expectations.

According to WENN, reviewer David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter dismissed the show as "scattershot entertainment", insisting the production "lacked emotional substance" and "comes up short as both comedy and dysfunctional family drama".

Rooney also launched a personal attack on the singer claiming that Keys, "transitional music is used too liberally, more often calling attention to itself than serving the dramatic tone".

New York Daily News' critic Joe Dziemianowicz's complaint (which has been echoed by other ciritcs) was that the show was unnecessarily long stating the close to three-hour production, "could benefit from some tightening".

The show is set to run until 29 January 2012. Here is hoping some more positive reviews come out- or maybe it is time for Alicia to get back to what she is truly great at... creating hits.