Detroit audiences can get themselves into an “Empire State of Mind” this holiday season: Alicia Keys’ 2024 hit Broadway musical, “Hell’s Kitchen,” will open at the Fisher Theatre on Dec. 2, and run through Dec. 14.
The show centers on Ali, a 17-year-old girl full of fire who’s searching for freedom, passion and her place in the world. “Hell’s Kitchen” is her New York City coming-of-age tale, packed with new songs and favorite jams by 17-time Grammy winner Keys. Rebellious and stifled by an overprotective single mother, Ali is lost until she meets her mentor: a neighbor who opens her heart and mind to the power of the piano.
Keys spoke with the Free Press about her experience with the show and said collaborating on the story with script writer Kristoffer Diaz was “such a magnificent thing.”
“He is so special and so good,” she said. “Just thinking about how he’s brought all of those diverse, unique voices in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ to life has been so, so cool. From the beginning, we matched each other well. From the beginning, when we first started to work together, he was just my match. He grew up born and raised in New York. He understood the story; he understood the language and the style. It had to have that true New York energy. The minute we connected, we were always on the same page.”
Keys said she and Diaz worked with director Michael Greif and musical supervisor Adam Blackstone to decide which songs would be utilized in the show, and how.
“Kris and Michael really kind of lived and breathed how the music would be a part of the show,” she said. “Of course, ‘Empire’ is going to be in it. ‘No One’ is going to be in it. ‘(If I) Ain’t Got You’ is going to be a part of it. But it was really exciting to see where they belonged and particularly how they propelled the story forward. My favorite part (is) how the music is used in the show. It propels the story forward, and it continues to engage you in the emotion of the story. We really spent a lot of time and intention on how that was going to feel and play a part with the arc.”
When “Hell’s Kitchen” opened on Broadway, it was an instant hit, garnering rave reviews, a Grammy, and eventually racking up 13 Tony nominations, winning two for lead performer Maleah Joi Moon and featured actress Kecia Lewis. Keys said she was surprised by its success, but was the project’s biggest cheerleader.
“We spent 13 years workshopping it,” she said. “We spent 13 years pulling it apart and putting it back together, and seeing what worked and what doesn’t work, and what feels good and what doesn’t feel good, and how the story was leaning us (toward) certain angles. We really worked on it for such a substantial amount of time that, by the time it came to be ready for off Broadway, then from off Broadway to Broadway, I did feel a level of confidence that the story would stand up.”
Keys said she’s excited for the show to finally play in Detroit.
“My mother was born in Detroit,” she said, “and then she moved to Toledo when she was young, so Detroit has always had a very rootsy part of my life and my mother’s life — and also musically, Detroit is one of the most impactful, powerful places ever. As an artist, that relationship is just natural and reverent.”
But when asked whether she’ll make an upcoming appearance in the Motor City, she left it a mystery.
“You never know where I’m going to show up,” she said, “because I check on the show. I love to make sure it’s doing well, and I love to make sure that the artists are feeling well, and I love to bring my light to the space — so, you never know. When we opened in Cleveland, I was all over that theater. I was everywhere, and people had no idea. It was amazing. You never know where you’ll find me.”
Keys said she hopes people leave the show feeling uplifted.
“They’re going to feel connected to themselves,” she said. “They’re going to feel the power of community and family. They’re going to feel love. The heart of the show is a mother-daughter love story. I want (people) to feel connected to their own story because there’s a piece of all of us inside of it. I want them to walk away with a level of joy, a level of understanding. … I love that people walk away feeling seen, like: ‘This is my life. I’ve experienced this.’
“I want people to walk away singing at the top of their lungs and feeling good.”
‘Hell’s Kitchen’
Dec. 2-14
Fisher Theatre
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit
broadwayindetroit.com
$40 & up
Information: Broadwayindetroit.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alicia Keys spent 13 years building ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ coming to Detroit
Reporting by Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
