Show guide
Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen is Alicia Keys' semi autobiographical musical about a headstrong teenager finding her voice in 1990s Manhattan.
- Broadway premiere
- 2024
- Music by
- Alicia Keys
- Genre
- Jukebox
- Setting
- 1990s
Hell's Kitchen: quick answers
What is Hell's Kitchen about?
- A teenage girl named Ali, growing up in the Manhattan Plaza apartment complex in 1990s New York, pushes for independence from her protective mother and finds a mentor in a piano teacher who opens up music for her.
When did Hell's Kitchen open on Broadway?
- Hell's Kitchen opened on Broadway on April 20, 2024, at the Shubert Theatre, after an Off-Broadway run at The Public Theater. It played 767 regular performances and closed on February 22, 2026.
Is Hell's Kitchen a jukebox musical?
- Yes. It is a semi-autobiographical jukebox musical built on the music and lyrics of Alicia Keys, with a book by Kristoffer Diaz.
Where and when is Hell's Kitchen set?
- Hell's Kitchen is set in the 1990s in Manhattan Plaza, an apartment complex in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.
The story of Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen follows seventeen year old Ali, who lives with her protective single mother Jersey in a Manhattan Plaza apartment building full of musicians and artists in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Restless and eager for independence, Ali is drawn to Knuck, an older musician she meets in the building, while clashing with her mother over freedom and safety.
Ali's absent father Davis drifts in and out of her life, and it is Miss Liza Jane, a formidable piano teacher in the building, who becomes Ali's real mentor, pushing her toward music as a way of understanding herself. The show is loosely drawn from Alicia Keys' own teenage years, and its themes of independence, artistic awakening, and mother daughter tension give it an emotional throughline beneath the songs.
The music and the makers
The score draws on Alicia Keys' existing catalog, reworked and rearranged for the stage, with a book by playwright Kristoffer Diaz built around her songs rather than written first and set to music. The result blends R and B, soul, and gospel influences, with the piano at the emotional center of nearly every scene.
Because the songs were written across Keys' career rather than for the show alone, Hell's Kitchen plays less like a conventional jukebox musical and more like a song cycle reorganized into a coming of age story, anchored by big vocal moments for Ali and Miss Liza Jane in particular.
Hell's Kitchen on Broadway
Hell's Kitchen opened on Broadway in April 2024 at the Shubert Theatre, starring Maleah Joi Moon as Ali, Shoshana Bean as Jersey, Brandon Victor Dixon as Davis, and Kecia Lewis as Miss Liza Jane. Maleah Joi Moon won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in her Broadway debut, and Kecia Lewis won Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Miss Liza Jane.
The production has been recognized as one of the more personal jukebox musicals to reach Broadway in recent years, notable for centering a Black mother and daughter relationship and for Alicia Keys' direct involvement in shaping a story rooted in her own upbringing.
Hell's Kitchen: frequently asked questions
Who is the piano teacher character in Hell's Kitchen?
The piano teacher is Miss Liza Jane, a resident of Ali's Manhattan Plaza apartment building who offers to teach her piano and becomes her mentor. Kecia Lewis originated the role and won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the performance.
Did Hell's Kitchen win the Tony Award for Best Musical?
No. Hell's Kitchen received 13 Tony nominations in 2024, tied with the play Stereophonic for the most that year, but lost Best Musical to The Outsiders. It won two Tonys: Best Actress in a Musical for Maleah Joi Moon and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Kecia Lewis.
Is Hell's Kitchen based on a true story?
It is semi-autobiographical rather than a literal true story. Alicia Keys drew on her own teenage years in Manhattan Plaza to create Ali, a fictionalized stand-in for herself.
Is Hell's Kitchen still running on Broadway?
No. Hell's Kitchen played its final Broadway performance on February 22, 2026, at the Shubert Theatre, after 767 regular performances. A North American tour began at Playhouse Square in Cleveland in October 2025.
When did Hell's Kitchen open on Broadway?
Hell's Kitchen opened on Broadway in April 2024 at the Shubert Theatre.
Who composed Hell's Kitchen?
The score is built from the songs of Alicia Keys.
What is Hell's Kitchen about?
It follows a teenage girl named Ali growing up in a Manhattan Plaza apartment building in 1990s Hell's Kitchen, torn between her protective mother and her own independence.
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