New cities, same dreams: Alicia Keys brings 'Hell's Kitchen' to Los Angeles

Bringing a portion of New York to Los Angeles doesn’t intimidate Alicia Keys.

When she created “Hell’s Kitchen,” the jukebox philharmonic loosely based connected her aboriginal beingness successful Manhattan, Keys drew vigor from her heavy content successful the project. The amusement opened connected Broadway successful 2024 and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including champion musical. It volition marque its L.A. debut astatine the Hollywood Pantages Theatre connected Wednesday, successful a measurement that Keys welcomes arsenic a earthy progression marking its success.

“We spent 13 years processing this piece,” Keys said. “I judge successful this deeply. I basal down it. I basal for it.”

L.A. is the 2nd halt connected the musical’s 45-city North American tour. With a publication by Kristoffer Diaz and directed by Michael Greif, the amusement features hits from Keys’ career, on with further euphony and lyrics written by Keys and assorted collaborators for the show. Legendary tennis subordinate and entrepreneur Serena Williams besides joined the circuit arsenic a producer. Keys called it thrilling to bring different almighty pistillate onto the team.

“She saw the amusement early, and she was conscionable wholly taken. I deliberation she said thing like, ‘Alicia, you made this young thug cry,’” Keys recounted. “She was truthful connected to it and felt really, truly engaged with it. Obviously, she’s specified an unthinkable businesswoman and visionary. It conscionable felt right.”

Inspired by Keys’ ain puerility increasing up successful the midtown vicinity of Hell’s Kitchen, the philharmonic follows 17-year-old Ali searching for freedom, emotion and look successful 1990s New York City. Between arguments with her overprotective mother, Jersey, Ali finds solace learning to play the soft nether the tutelage of Miss Liza Jane, an aged tenant successful the family’s subsidized creator housing.

Ali becomes romantically entangled with an older lad named Knuck and falls successful emotion with music, but pistillate relationships signifier the halfway of the story. Keys hopes the dynamic betwixt Ali, her parent and Miss Liza Jane helps the philharmonic transcend immoderate limitations inherent successful its peculiar municipality setting.

Maya Drake arsenic Ali successful the institution of the North American Tour of Alicia Keys’ “Hell’s Kitchen,” which stages its L.A. premiere astatine the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.

(Marc J Franklin)

“It was absorbing to spot that adjacent though the communicative itself is based successful New York City ... it is simply a portion that truly becomes timeless, and it doesn’t substance wherever you live,” Keys said. “You tin recognize this story, and that’s wherefore it translated truthful good into a circuit due to the fact that astatine the bosom of it, it’s truly a mother-daughter emotion story.”

“Hell’s Kitchen” is inactive a distinctly New York musical. The characters sermon Rudy Giuliani’s arguable stop-and-frisk constabulary policies, and Knuck is portion of a sidewalk bucket drumming group. Keys wanted to guarantee that the tone of New York was “baked into the show.”

“I conscionable privation [the audience] to consciousness the electricity. I privation them to consciousness that New York energy,” Keys said. “You consciousness this grit. You consciousness this rawness. The amusement is acceptable successful the ‘90s, but ... it could beryllium today, tomorrow, yesterday.”

Like New York, L.A. is simply a metropolis that Keys said is shaped by “creative spirits,” and she can’t hold to spot however the amusement is received by a Hollywood crowd.

“I’m truthful excited to bring this to the L.A. assemblage for everyone, each these originative minds and spirits who are each time chasing their ain dreams and breaking down walls and barriers and looking for ways to link much deeply,” Keys said. “I’m excited for them to autumn successful emotion with it and person a portion of Broadway successful their backyard.”

That portion volition get via a touring formed consisting of emerging artists and storied talent. Maya Drake makes her archetypal circuit debut arsenic Ali; portion Kennedy Caughell (Jersey) has 3 nationalist tours nether her belt, including “Wicked” and “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical.” Keys finds peculiar joyousness successful watching caller endowment respire beingness into her characters.

Maya Drake arsenic Ali arsenic portion of the institution of the North American Tour of Alicia Keys’ “Hell’s Kitchen,” which stages its L.A. Premiere astatine the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.

(Marc J Franklin)

“When you spot the tour, you’re seeing young radical that are surviving their dream, and they are truthful good. I mean, they creation adjacent level. They are singing the full extortion disconnected the full place,” Keys said. “It’s magnificent to spot the young artists that are blooming and blossoming.”

The quality of Ali is fundamentally shaped by the young artists who play her, Keys said. During the show’s archetypal Broadway run, the histrion Maleah Joi Moonwon a Tony for show astatine the property of 21. Drake is 19, and adjacent though this circuit marks her archetypal large production, Keys called Drake a “pure champion veteran.”

“You seldom ever get to spot a young pistillate astatine the helm of specified a monolithic portion and specified an important role,” Keys said. “It’s a monster, beast role, and I deliberation it’s truthful meaty.”

When asked astir aboriginal “Hell’s Kitchen” projects — including a movie adaptation — Keys laughed and said she “can’t speech excessively much,” but that the squad is exploring assorted realms of possibility.

In the meantime, “Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell’s Kitchen” volition premiere astatine the Tribeca Film Festival successful June. The documentary volition chronicle Keys’ puerility successful Hell’s Kitchen, and research however her vicinity catalyzed her vocation and the musical.

“It gives you position of what the vicinity of Hell’s Kitchen truly was like,” Keys said. “It besides shares the inspiration and the real-life vigor down wherefore the communicative is truthful overmuch astir dreamers.”

“Hell’s Kitchen” closed connected Broadway successful February aft 23 previews and 767 regular performances — but for Keys, successful galore ways, it’s conscionable beginning.

“You consciousness a full slew of emotions. You’re dancing. You consciousness triumphant. You’re crying. You’re reasoning of your ain family...It is conscionable a full roller coaster of emotions, this show. And I’m excited for [audiences] to consciousness each of it,” Keys said. “This has been for definite 1 of the champion experiences of my full life. I emotion this process, and I can’t hold to support doing it.”