What does New York City sound like? Something like Hell's Kitchen. The new jukebox musical features the music and lyrics of Alicia Keys, with a semi-autobiographical plot about her upbringing in Manhattan in the 1990s.
Directed by four-time Tony Award® nominee Michael Greif, with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown, a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristopher Diaz, and featuring Keys’ new original songs and iconic anthems—in a story inspired by her own NY experience—Hell's Kitchen is the kind of Broadway musical dreams are made of.
What's it all about? In the mid 90’s, in an apartment high above the energy and grit of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, 17-year-old Ali squints toward the horizon until she can just see the Hudson River. Despite the warnings of her protective mother, the symphony of the street calls to her—promising freedom, excitement, and the possibility of love. Finding herself. When a wise piano teacher helps her find her voice, Ali learns she can make the city her own.
Hell's Kitchen initially ran at The Public Theater in October 2023, and opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on April 20, 2024. The original cast included: Shoshana Bean as Jersey, Brandon Victor Dixon as D, Kecia Lewis as Miss Liza Jane, Chris Lee as Gabriel, and Maleah Joi Moon as Ali.
The production received critical acclaim, earning 13 Tony Award nominations and winning Best Actress in a Musical for Maleah Joi Moon and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Kecia Lewis. The original Broadway cast recording, released in June 2024, is available on all streaming platforms and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Don’t miss this exhilarating, joyful, coming-of-age story filled with that New York Grit about chasing your dreams, honoring your roots, identity and finding your voice.
If Dixon and Bean give swoon-worthy interpretations of some of Keys’ catchiest melodies, Kecia Lewis is on fire in Keys’ most moving and intense tune, “Perfect Way To Die.” The song is about a woman whose son has been shot dead. Nobody is shot dead in “Hell’s Kitchen.” There’s no indication that Miss Liza Jane had a son who was killed. Miss Jane sings the song after Ali enters the Ellington room and tells her she is too angry to play piano right now. In the scene right before, the police have a (somewhat murky) encounter with Knuck, possibly instigated by Jersey, which led to his arrest. Miss Liza Jane excoriates her student: “Then why the hell are you in here and not out there. ¥ou were in pain. That pain led you here. Listen to that pain. Do something with it.” If the lyrics don’t correspond to the situation of the scene, the emotions are deeply aligned and easily shared by the audience. The same could be said about much of “Hell’s Kitchen.”
What is so remarkable about Hell’s Kitchen, however, is that a story so familiar can also somehow feel so fresh. Right from the outset, both the neighborhood and stage come alive — bursting with energy as characters bound about in their FUBU shirts and saggy, baggy jeans, popping poses and banging buckets. The Hell’s Kitchen ensemble is working hard, interpreting the music through motion that feels like the bustling city streets outside Ali’s Manhattan Plaza building. If modern, hyped-up dance is your thing, they got you, thanks to scene-stealing choreography by Camille A. Brown.
General Rush
Price: $39
Where: Shubert Theatre box office
When: When the box office opens on the day of the performance.
Limit: Two per customer.
Information: Subject to daily availability. The box office opens Monday through Saturday at 10am (ET) and Sunday at 12pm (ET).
Digital Lottery:
Price: $39
Where: rush.telecharge.com
When: 12am (ET) one day before the performance with winners announced that same morning at 10am (ET), with a second announcement of additional winners that afternoon at 3pm (ET).
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Tickets are subject to availability. Seats may be partial view.
2023 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Camille A. Brown |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Kecia Lewis |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Shoshana Bean |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Maleah Joi Moon |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Projection and Video Design | Peter Nigrini |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Shoshana Bean |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Kecia Lewis |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Musical | Hell’s Kitchen |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical | Kecia Lewis |
2024 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Maleah Joi Moon |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Kristoffer Diaz |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Camille A. Brown |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Dede Ayite |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Michael Greif |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Natasha Katz |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Hell's Kitchen |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Tom Kitt |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Brandon Victor Dixon |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Kecia Lewis |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Shoshana Bean |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Maleah Joi Moon |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Robert Brill |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Gareth Owen |
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