Alicia Keys and the Stars of Broadway’s Hell’s Kitchen on the Musical's 'Wild Freedom' and Family Inspiration

Hell’s Kitchen, the new Broadway musical scored by Alicia Keys’ R&B hits, begins performances at the Shubert Theatre on March 28. Inspired by Keys’ upbringing in the title New York City neighborhood, Keys shared with The Broadway Show where the roots of this story are planted.

“This is not autobiographical,” Keys said of the book, written by Kristoffer Diaz, “but it is inspired by real-life experiences.” At its core, a story of a mother and daughter, the singer-songwriter went on to describe how her own mother made her way into this production. “My mother was raised in Toledo, Ohio, and she is the quintessential New York story,” explained Keys. “She is the girl that escaped the small town to come to New York to pursue her dream of acting and dancing. So much of my childhood was really based around watching and experiencing her in this space. In the theater. In this creative universe. And so I think that was the reason why doing this story for the theater, as a musical, felt so right.”

Maleah Joi Moon leads the show as Keys’ proxy, a teenage girl named Ali, and she confirms that she’s been an Alicia Keys fan since the womb—literally—“in the way that your dad puts the headphones on the baby bump,” she joked. “I’ve been listening to her since day one and her music has inspired me so much as an artist.”

Tony nominee Shoshana Bean, who performs opposite Moon as her mother Jersey, also feels a special kinship with this musical. “To get to sing Alicia’s music, which is such soulful R&B, on a Broadway stage, is truly both of my worlds and both of my loves coming together in such a magical way,” said Bean. “There is a wild freedom inside of this one that’s unlike any other opportunity I’ve ever had. It’s really special.”