Alicia Keys on Celebrating the First Anniversary of Broadway’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’: ‘It’s a Magical Kind of Experience’

Having won the Grammy Award for best musical theater album in February, Hell’s Kitchen is celebrating another achievement: its one-year anniversary. Inspired by 17-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys’ life, the musical — which made its Broadway bow on April 20, 2024 — marked the upcoming anniversary with a VIP-attended performance at New York’s Shubert Theatre (April 9). And this fall, Hell’s Kitchen will launch a national touring production.

“It’s kind of a magical experience to say, ‘Wow, look how this incredible idea that started as just a seed over 13 years ago is continuing to grow, take shape and touch people’s lives,’” Keys tells Billboard. “No matter who you are in the world or where you’re from, you’re going to see yourself in this show. You’re going to recognize your family, you’re going to recognize your own spirit, you’re going to recognize the relationship you’ve had with an important mentor in your life.

“You’re also going to leave this show and feel not only uplifted but excited and touched,” she continues. “I love the remarks and notes from all the different people that come to see the show. We’re so excited for more people to continue to discover and fall in love with it.”

Among the celebs on hand for the recent anniversary performance and the post-show party at eatery Sei Less were Ava DuVernay, Norah Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Sherri Shepard, Busta Rhymes and Keys’ husband Swizz Beatz. The Empire State Building being lit in the play’s signature colors of blue and yellow also added to the festivities.

The current Hell’s Kitchen cast includes Grammy-nominated singer Durrell “Tank” Babbs, Tony Award winner Kecia Lewis, Jade Milan, Phillip Johnson Richardson and Jessica Vosk. Both Lewis and former original cast member Maleah Joi Moon won Tonys — for best actress in a featured role in a musical and best actress in a leading role in a musical, respectively — in 2024. Those nods were among the 13 Tony nominations the play received last year.

Produced by AKW Productions with a book by Kristoffer Diaz and music/lyrics by Keys, Hell’s Kitchen has achieved several other milestones during its first year. “Kaleidoscope,” one of the musical’s original songs, doubled as the anthem of the 2024 U.S. Open Tournament. Two Keys hits featured in the musical, “No One” and “Empire State of Mind,” were certified diamond by the RIAA, with “Empire” also celebrating its 15th anniversary. And through an ongoing partnership with the Keys co-founded organization Keep A Child Alive (KCA), Hell’s Kitchen has donated $1.3 million to date to provide aid for children across the globe.

Prior to the kickoff anniversary celebration for Hell’s Kitchen, Keys and the musical’s director, five-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, talked with Billboard about the play’s successful first year and the upcoming October launch of its national touring production (hyper here) at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square:

What was the easiest and hardest challenge in bringing the musical to life?

Keys: The hardest challenge was just holding on to the vision and making sure that through all of the processes, all of the years, all the versions and integrations of different moments and people, that it really stayed pure. I think we did a really good job of that. I’m also proud of us finding the right team to support all of it. The easiest part was the creation. Although it was long, there was an ease to it because the creative team is so special and so aligned with myself, Michael, Kris Diaz, [choreographer] Camille Brown and [music supervisor] Adam Blackstone. There’s an ease to it when everyone is ready to bring their greatest and feels so attached to it.

Greif: You stole my easiest. [Laughs.] The process was creative, exciting and productive. We liked each other, really listened to each other, and we made each other better all the time. This group coming together was so special for me. The most difficult part is happening right now, which is all about maintaining the vitality, excitement and big heart of the show as we bring it out into the world. We have the great opportunity to make new companies and ensure that that special chemistry exists between these new companies.

Alicia, looking back what was more difficult: breaking into Broadway or the music industry?

Keys: It was equally hard. Holding on to your vision, your spirit and who you are, while having the tenacity to stay the course until it all comes together and happens, is hard — no matter what you’re doing and whatever business you’re doing it in. It’s never going to be easy, because if it was easy, everybody could do it.

And I would say it was equally challenging in different ways. One of the things I love about creating Hell’s Kitchen is that I was so much more connected to myself as a person, as a businessperson, than I was as a kid coming into the music industry. So in that way, it was better, because I had a real clear sense of what it was. All the funny stuff and mistakes had happened so now I was in more of a sense of power.

And Michael, given your directing background with Rent, Dear Evan Hansen and other Broadway musicals, did this project feel like an immediate slam dunk?

Greif: You just go in and try your best. Even when everything is working, there’s something that’s just alchemical in a live performance; a magical combination of things coming together. It helps when you have a group of people who are looking at it and refining it all the time. But I thought this had a whole lot going for it with Alicia’s music and the story is fantastic. But you really don’t ever know. I think what this [Hell’s Kitchen] found was a unique look at what it is to begin to find yourself in the world. And that’s such a powerful and universal story.

Keys: It’s such a beautiful thing to see people put themselves on the line for the sake of a beautiful piece of work. So I did feel really confident and remain very confident in what this is. Like with a great song: you can sing that song with no music, and you feel it. You could sing it just on guitar, just on piano, and you can get a sense of the story and feel it in your heart. The same spirit lives with Hell’s Kitchen. That’s the beauty of what Kris was able to create, the direction that Michael’s been giving and the dancing is so emotional. Then the songs all tell the story in such an authentic way.

How far along are you in casting the national touring production?

Keys: We’re in auditions right now, finding ourselves back in the buildings where we began the original cast. It’s really an incredible experience being able to discover young actors that are just out of high school and offer them this chance of a lifetime. Powerful young actors about whom we’re going to be able to say in five, 10, 15 years that this is the beginning of where they started. And I love the way this story lends itself to such a diverse group of people who are really identifying with this story. And we’re so grateful for that.

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