FROM 15-TIME GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ARTIST ALICIA KEYS
ALICIA KEYS' New Musical HELL'S KITCHEN to Open on Broadway
Music & Lyrics by Grammy winner ALICIA KEYS
Book by Pulitzer Prize finalist KRISTOFFER DIAZ
Music Supervision by Emmy & Grammy winner ADAM BLACKSTONE
Choreography by Tony Award nominee CAMILLE A. BROWN
Directed by Tony Award nominee MICHAEL GREIF
“★★★★★! HELL’S KITCHEN IS A MARVEL! A LIVE-WIRE THEATRICAL ADAPTATION OF ALICIA KEYS’ HIT LIST THAT BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN.” – The Guardian
“ALICIA KEYS’ HIT R&B SONGS SOAR ONSTAGE.” – New York Post
“A POWERFUL, IRRESISTIBLE, BEAUTY OF A MUSICAL.” – The Telegraph
“HELL’S KITCHEN IS A SPARKLING STORY PAYING HOMAGE TO NEW YORK, TO THE BEAUTIFUL AND HEARTBRAKING TRANSITION BETWEEN GIRLHOOD AND WOMANHOOD AND TO THE WOMEN WHO HOLD OUR HANDS THROUGH IT ALL.” – Variety
(New York, NY) AKW Productions is thrilled to announce The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director; Mandy Hackett, Director of Public Theater Productions) production of the new musical HELL’S KITCHEN, conceived by the innovative mind of 15-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, with music and lyrics by Keys, book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz, music supervision by Emmy and Grammy Award winner Adam Blackstone, music consulting by two-time Tony and Emmy winner Tom Kitt, choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown and direction by Tony Award nominee Michael Greif will make its Broadway premiere this spring.
First preview is set for Thursday, March 28, 2024 and opening night is Saturday, April 20, 2024 at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street.). The Pre-Sale begins at 10:00AM ET on Friday, December 8. For access please visit HellsKitchen.com to sign up. Tickets will go on-sale to the general public on Monday, December 11 at 12:00PM ET at Telecharge.com.
There’s a place where the rhythm of the city is music, where every corner has a story, and every window is a kaleidoscope. Where a girl can step out of her apartment and find the world. That’s Hell’s Kitchen, a new musical from 15-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys that’s about to make Broadway feel brand new.
“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?” said Alicia Keys. “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. I’m honored to be a part of this Broadway season with so much incredible talent and great stories. I grew up with musical theater and have so many memories of standing on line at TKTS to see shows like Miss Saigon and Rent. For me, Hell’s Kitchen is also a New York story of finding your dreams and for me, this musical coming to Broadway is the embodiment of that idea. I’ve learned so much from the experience and the collaboration with Michael Greif, Camille A. Brown, Kristoffer Diaz and Adam Blackstone. I love and respect the art form so much and I’m excited to see it come to Broadway.”
“Hell's Kitchen is an extraordinary show, and we are thrilled to have it arriving at the Shubert Theater, where A CHORUS LINE ran for 16 glorious years after transferring from The Public in 1975. Like that legendary show, Hell's Kitchen is a quintessentially New York story. Our audiences have ecstatically connected with the musical, seeing themselves and their own lives in the story of a extraordinary 17-year-old girl growing up and discovering her place in the world. Alicia Keys' is a brilliant artist whose deep humanity has always been at the heart of her creativity; in Hell's Kitchen, her luminescent spirit shines through her music and her story. This show is just what we are hungry for: a reason to feel optimistic about the world, a reminder of why we love New York City, a celebration of how art and love can overcome any barrier. It's an amazing theatrical debut for one of the world's greatest songwriters- it is going to touch millions of people.” Oskar Eustis, Public Theater Artistic Director.
The creative team for Hell’s Kitchen includes, Robert Brill (Scenic Design), Dede Ayite (Costume Design), Natasha Katz (Lighting Design), Gareth Owen (Sound Design), Peter Nigrini (Projection Design), Mia Neal (Hair and Wig Design) and Foresight Theatrical (General Management).
The music team of Hell’s Kitchen includes orchestrations by Tom Kitt and Adam Blackstone, arrangements by Alicia Keys and Adam Blackstone, and music consulting by Tom Kitt.
Hell’s Kitchen made its world premiere in a sold-out run—October 24, 2023 -January 14, 2024, including a five-week extension—at The Public Theater this fall. The cast at The Public Theater includes Shoshana Bean, Chad Carstarphen, Reid Clarke, Chloe Davis, Nico DeJesus, Brandon Victor Dixon, Timothy L. Edwards, Desmond Sean Ellington, Badia Farha, Vanessa Ferguson, David Guzman, Crystal Monee Hall, Gianna Harris, Jakeim Hart, Chris Lee, Jackie Leon, Kecia Lewis, Raechelle Manalo, Jade Milan, Maleah Joi Moon, Onyxx Noel, Susan Oliveras, Sarah Parker, Aaron Nicholas Patterson, William Roberson, Niki Saludez, Mariand Torres, Donna Vivino, Lamont Walker II and Oscar Whitney Jr.
The cast of the Broadway production will be announced shortly.
Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway is produced by AKW Productions. Aaron Lustbader will serve as Executive Producer.
BIOGRAPHIES
ALICIA KEYS (Music & Lyrics, Arrangements) is a 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, founder of Keys Soulcare, New York Times best-selling author, film/television producer, accomplished actress, entrepreneur, and a powerful force in the world of activism. Since the release of her monumental 2001 debut album, Songs in A Minor, Keys has sold over 65 million records, over 5 billion streams and built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments. Keys has become the #1 RIAA certified Female R&B artist of the millennium with over 37 million certified track sales (US) and 20 million album sales (US). She released her eighth studio album, Keys (Originals and Unlocked)—a double album—in 2021 followed by a deluxe version in 2022 and a sold-out Alicia + Keys World Tour that celebrated the Keys and Alicia albums. She recently completed her first Latin American leg of that tour to rave reviews and ravenous audiences. Keys released her book More Myself: A Journey via Flatiron Books, which debuted and spent multiple weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. In March 2022, she released her first graphic novel titled Girl on Fire with HarperCollins. Keys released her first-ever holiday album Santa Baby in November 2022 which includes four original songs, including the single “December Back 2 June.” Keys recently completed a spectacular, 360-degree show, the Keys to the Summer Tour, which hit 22 cities across North America. As a producer, she is thrilled to bring Hell’s Kitchen, a new original stage musical Keys diligently worked for 13 years to The Shubert Theater.
MICHAEL GREIF (Director) Notable productions on and off Broadway include: The Low Road, Fucking A, Dogeaters, Giant, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide, Romeo and Juliet, Machinal at The Public and Delacorte; Our Lady of Kibeho, A Few Stout Individuals, Landscape of the Body, Angels in America at NY’s Signature Theater; Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal (also Arena Stage and Broadway), A Parallelogram, Make Believe at Second Stage; Grey Gardens (also Broadway), Far From Heaven, Spatter Pattern at Playwrights Horizons; Street Scene, Therese Raquin, The Cherry Orchard at Williamstown Theater Festival; and Rent at the New York Theater Workshop and Broadway. Most recently, he, along with Schele Williams, co-directed the critically acclaimed musical adaptation of The Notebook at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
KRISTOFFER DIAZ (Book) is a playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and educator. His play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Other full-length titles include Welcome to Arroyo’s, Reggie Hoops, Things With Friends, Hercules, and The Unfortunates. His work has been produced, commissioned, and developed at The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Geffen Playhouse, ACT, Center Theatre Group, The Goodman, Second Stage, Victory Gardens, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, among many others. Awards include the Guggenheim, Jerome, Van Lier, NYFA, and Gail Merrifield Papp Fellowships; New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award; Lucille Lortel, Equity Jeff, and Obie Awards; and the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant, among others. As a screenwriter, Diaz has developed original television pilots for HBO and FX, written for the first season of Netflix's “GLOW,” and adapted the musical Rent for FOX. Diaz teaches playwriting at New York University. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists and a member of its Board of Directors, and the current secretary of the Dramatists Guild Council.
CAMILLE A. BROWN (Choreography) Three-time Tony Award-nominated director and choreographer is the first Black woman in 67 years to direct and choreograph on Broadway with for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf in 2022. The production garnered seven Tony Award nominations including two nominations for Brown as director and choreographer. She is the 2023 winner of the Broadway Black award for Best Direction/Broadway (for colored girls...). Other Broadway: Choir Boy (Tony nomination, Choreography) and Once on This Island (Drama Desk nomination, Choreography). Off-Broadway choreography credits include Toni Stone (Roundabout Theatre, A.C.T.), Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet (Shakespeare in the Park), Bella (Playwrights Horizons; AUDELCO Award, Choreography), and Fortress of Solitude (The Public; Lucille Lortel Award nom). At the Metropolitan Opera, Brown became the first Black director in the history of the Met Opera main stage with Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones (which she co-directed with James Robinson and also choreographed), as well as choreographed Blanchard's Champion and Porgy & Bess at the Met. Film/TV includes the Oscar-nominated Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Emmy-nominated “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” (NBC), and “Harlem” (Amazon). She is the Founder and Director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and has Honorary Doctorates from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Drew University. She received the 2020 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Choreography. camilleabrown.org @camilleabrown
ADAM BLACKSTONE (Music Supervision, Orchestrations, Arrangements) is a multi-faceted musician, bass player, Emmy-winning music director, Grammy-winning writer, and CEO of BASSic Black Entertainment. He is the musical mastermind behind the live shows of many of today’s biggest artists, serving as the musical director for acts such as Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, and Maroon 5. He has also served as musical director for Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, RRHOF, NBC’s “That’s My Jam,” the NBA All-Star Game, and numerous BET, VH1, and MTV specials. Blackstone sits at the helm of BASSic Black Entertainment, LLC (BBE), a music service company that specializes in live music production, connecting musicians and studio production. In 2022, Blackstone released his debut album Legacy, which reached #1 on multiple charts. Lead single “‘Round Midnight” featuring Jazmine Sullivan received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance and was selected in President Barack Obama’s favorite songs of 2022 playlist.
AKW PRODUCTIONS (Producer) AK Worldwide is an all women led entertainment hub dedicated to telling diverse stories through music, film, television and theater. Notable production credits include: The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, Distributed by CodeBlack Entertainment/Lionsgate, directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Michael Starrbury, starring Anthony Mackie, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Jeffrey Wright, Skylan Brooks and Ethan Dizon. Stick Fly is a 2006 play written by Lydia Diamond and opened on Broadway on December 8, 2011, directed by Kenny Leon.The cast included Rosie Benton, Dulé Hill, Mekhi Phifer, Condola Rashād, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Tracie Thoms. UNCHARTED, debuted at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary takes a candid look at the music industry and a powerful group of women trying to change it, also produced by Katie Couric and everyday Studios.
THE PUBLIC THEATER continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today. Conceived over 60 years ago as one of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public’s wide breadth of programming includes an annual season of new work at its landmark home at Astor Place, Free Shakespeare in the Park at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park, the Mobile Unit touring throughout New York City’s five boroughs, Under the Radar, Public Works, Public Shakespeare Initiative, and Joe’s Pub. Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ain’t No Mo’ by Jordan E. Cooper. Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 60 Tony Awards, 184 Obie Awards, 56 Drama Desk Awards, 59 Lortel Awards, 34 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, 62 AUDELCO Awards, 6 Antonyo Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org
PUBLIC THEATER PRODUCTIONS is the commercial producing arm of The Public Theater.