Calling “Hell’s Kitchen” hot as…well, you know…may seem obvious.

But it’s also exactly on point.

The stage musical, at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre through Dec. 14, may be drawn from Grammy Award-winner Alicia Keys’ upbringing in that Manhattan neighborhood and built around songs from her 24-year recording career (plus three new tunes written especially for the project). But it transcends the usual definition of a “jukebox” musical with a movingly presented story, some fully contemporary and fresh approaches to staging and choreography, and, of course, a tremendous body of already proven music.

Simply put, we’ve seen its like before, but we’ve not seen anything quite like “Hell’s Kitchen.”

The show presents us with Ali, a precocious but angsty 17-year-old bristling at being kept “safe and suffocated” by her single mother, Jersey. They live an artist housing complex, while the street outside bustles with an urban tableau of bucket drummers and singers as well as the drug dealers, thugs and others of the ilk Jersey wants to shield Ali from.

Over the course of its 22 songs, “Hell’s Kitchen” explores a few layers. It’s ultimately a love story between a mother and daughter and a love letter to the neighborhood and New York City, culminating in Key’s 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind.” Mostly, however, it’s a coming of age tale as we witness Ali find her muse and her purpose, which in turn allows her to come to terms — if not complete peace — with the other issues in her life (including, yes, a boy named Knuck for a relationship that’s undeniable but unsustainable).

Because Keys has been writing and singing about her journey throughout her career, it’s not surprising that such a solid work could be built upon her songs. Unlike most of the jukebox shows, nothing in “Hell’s Kitchen” feels forced or shoehorned into the story; rather, it’s as if many of them were waiting for this moment to truly live beyond the charts. And as good as Kristoffer Diaz’s book and dialogue are, the fact is you can just as easily experience “Hell’s Kitchen” like a concert, enjoying one song after the next — some treated to modified tones and approaches — and the performances of them by about as accomplished of a first national tour cast as you could hope for. The troupe engages in an almost complementary one-upmanship throughout, with performances that seem designed to elevate from what came before.

Thanks to that, you can needle drop just about anywhere in the show and find a Moment that will be remembered after the curtain call. (And it’s to the “Hells Kitchen’s” credit that, despite a first-act pause due to technical issues on media night it was able to regain momentum almost immediately.) One of the most striking musical revisions treats Key’s first big hit, “Fallin’,” with a more uptempo jazz arrangement perfectly sung by estranged father Davis (played by Desmond Sean Ellington) and Jersey (Kennedy Caughell). The show’s rendition of “Grammercy Park” nods to Aaron Copland, while “Heartburn” opens Act II in the vein of Norman Whitfield Motown psychedelic soul track and “Love Looks Better” hits like a stadium rock anthem.

The new “Kaleidoscope,” meanwhile — in which Ali (Maya Drake) is introduced to the piano by Miss Liza Jane (Roz White) — is a masterfully staged ensemble dance number that represents the thrill of discovery with a joyous, spirit-lifting physicality.

Drake, once she takes a breath from the initial lines’ rush of words, plays Ali with a mix of aspirational swagger and youthful uncertainty; her timing is spot-on throughout the show, especially when he breaks the fourth wall and tosses verbal asides and observations to the audience. Each of her castmates, meanwhile, make the most of their abundant spotlight moments, whether its White belting out “Perfect Way to Die” or “Authors of Forever” or Caughell raising the roof on just about everything she touches, especially the a cappella opening of “Pawn It All.” Drake and Caughell also kill it as mother and daughter reconcile with “No One.”

A variety of visual touches gives the show extra heft, too — whether it’s the depiction of Ali riding the elevator through the building, with different kinds of music coming from each floor, or visuals that spotlight female piano pioneers such as Florence Prince, Margaret Barnes and Hazel Scott as Miss Liza Jane imparts wisdom on Ali. It’s also a nice, and respectful, gesture to have the band’s live pianist positioned in full view; a musical the celebrates the music as this does should, after all, acknowledge where it’s really coming from.

And while it’s not explicitly autobiographical because of Keys’ enormous success we kind of know where Ali’s story goes from here. Nevertheless, a sense of triumph propels “Hell’s Kitchen,” making it a contemporary classic that can’t help but fire up anybody who sees it.

“Hell’s Kitchen” runs through Dec. 14 at the Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit. 313-872-1000 or broadwayindetroit.com.