Alicia Keys’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Moves To Broadway This Spring
Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen will be coming to Broadway. The semi-autographical play will be headed to New York in the spring. It debuted this fall at the Public Theater and is running through Jan. 18. Hell’s Kitchen will transfer to the Shubert Theater on March 28 and have an opening night on April 20.
The play features a score by Keys and a book by Kristoffer Diaz. The play follows a 17-year-old girl growing up in Hell’s Kitchen. While Keys also grew up in the neighborhood, it only has some similarities to her upbringing. In addition to handling the score, her company AKW Productions is credited as a producer for the play.
What Is Hell’s Kitchen About?
The play is described as: “In a cramped apartment hanging off the side of Times Square, 17-year-old Ali is desperate to get her piece of the New York dream. Ali’s mother is just as determined to protect her daughter from the same mistakes she made. When Ali falls for a talented young drummer, both mother and daughter must face hard truths about race, defiance, and growing up. Ali feels trapped, until the sound of a neighbor playing piano opens the door to an unexpected friendship and a radically different future.”
Keys spoke about what it means to take part in this production.
“Good things take time and for 13 years, I’ve been dreaming, developing and finding inspiration for a musical based on my experience growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. Hell’s Kitchen is inspired by my life, but it’s not a biographical story. It’s a story about family relationships and identity: Who are we? Who do we want to be? Who are we becoming?” Keys said in a press release, per The Hollywood Reporter. “The score features new songs that I’m really excited to get out into the world alongside many of my album releases that you know but you’ve never heard like this — rearranged and reinterpreted.”
A cast for the Broadway production has not been announced.