Alicia Keys Bring Her Quintessential New York Story to Broadway

The lights on Broadway are about to get a whole lot brighter. “Hell’s Kitchen,” a musical scored by 15-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, is moving from the Public Theater to Broadway’s Shubert Theater this spring. The historic theater has been home to popular shows, including “A Chorus Line” and “Some Like it Hot,” which closes in December.

Broadway previews for Hell’s Kitchen begin March 28, with the official opening set for April 20. Presale for tickets begins Friday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. ET.

The story, which centers around a 17-year-old girl growing up in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, is one that Keys had been thinking about for a while.

“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,” Keys said in a statement about the show.

But she adds that the story, though inspired by her life, is not a biography.

“It’s a story about family relationships and identity: Who are we? Who do we want to be? Who are we becoming?” she said.

At the helm of the production are some serious Broadway heavy hitters: “Hell’s Kitchen” is directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Greif — whose credits include “Rent” and “Dear Evan Hansen” — and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown, whose credits include “Choir Boy” and “Once on This Island.” But audiences will also get a special treat: new songs from 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,” she said.

Keys says the show is a quintessential New York story, and one she can’t wait to share with a Broadway audience.

“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,” she said. “I love and respect the art form so much, and I’m excited to see it come to Broadway.”