NEW YORK (AP) — Alicia Keys’ semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age Broadway musical is all grown up and leaving the nest. And, like any happy parent, Keys may visit it every once in a while.
A new “Hell’s Kitchen” cast has assembled in Cleveland for a national tour that will take them to the South, Midwest and West on a 28-city parade through 2026.
“It feels so good to know that it’s going to go across the country and this cast, let me tell you, is out of control. They’re so good,” Keys says. “Obviously, everybody can’t get to New York City. Everybody can’t go to Broadway.”
Those who catch the musical on the road may also get an extra treat. Keys says she’s liable to show up on some stops as a fairy godmother as it crosses the nation.
“I love, as an artist, bringing my energy to other artists. That’s really a fulfilling feeling. So, I’ll be fairy godmothering. You never know where you’ll see me.”
A coming-of-age story
“Hell’s Kitchen” is about 17-year-old New York piano prodigy fueled by Keys songs like “Fallin’,” “No One,” “Girl on Fire,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” as well as several new songs, including “Kaleidoscope.”
It centers on a young woman named Ali, who like Keys, is the daughter of a white mother and a Black father and is growing up in a subsidized housing development just outside Times Square in the once-rough neighborhood called Hell’s Kitchen. She learns to hone her music skills, falls in love and reconciles with her sometimes overbearing mom.
Keys hopes audiences will come for her music, the story and the diverse cast: “It’s really exciting to be able to go somewhere and see yourself on the stage or to see your experience played out.”
The Ali on tour is 18-year-old Maya Drake, a recent high school graduate from San Jose, California, who endured a long, rigorous audition process. She was a fan of Keys before the musical popped up on her radar.
“The fact that I get to be in a show with somebody else’s music and, of all the people, it gets to be her — I got so lucky with that,” says Drake. “Just to have that connection is so special, and it makes the show feel 10 times more enjoyable.”
As part of her audition process, Drake came to New York to watch “Hell’s Kitchen” on Broadway, starring Jade Milan as Ali. “It’s a lot seeing it for the first time and she never leaves the stage,” says Drake, who remembers thinking: “To be a part of something that big would just be crazy.”
After the tour cast was announced, the actors were invited onstage at the Shubert Theatre to cheers after a performance, and Drake got to meet and speak to veterans like Jessica Vosk and Kecia Lewis, who won a Tony Award in the show.
“That was a really special moment,” she says. “Sharing advice and getting insight from the people that are currently doing the show helped us understand what you’re about to get into and some things that can help.”
The tour coincides with the publication of “Hell’s Kitchen: Behind the Dream,” a photo-heavy book that charts the show’s 13-year evolution — from crafting the show with book writer Kristoffer Diaz and director Michael Greif to how it would end up with costumes, casting, choreography and staging.
Life on the road
After Cleveland, the tour goes to Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Diego and other cities.
Drake is, naturally, looking forward to the show going to California, especially the stop in San Francisco, the closest stop for friends and family from San Jose. She’s also excited to be on the road.
“I really have not traveled a bunch of my life, which is kind of ironic because I’m about to do a lot of traveling,” says Drake, who trained at the Children’s Musical Theater San Jose. “I’m definitely excited to go everywhere.”
Keys, who watched the show win two Tony Awards and the 2025 Grammy for best musical theater album, thinks the musical about her old New York neighborhood can thrive away from the Big Apple.
“This is a story inspired by my experiences growing up in New York City, for sure. And, yes, it is a New York story, 1,000%. The thing is, though, the story truly is timeless,” she says. “It’s such an emotional, honest, raw, authentic story that it doesn’t matter if it’s in Cleveland, or if it’s in Detroit, or if it’s in Manhattan or Atlanta.”
