The North American tour of the Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen has completed casting. The tour kicks off with a three-week engagement at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio, from October 10 through November 1.
Desmond Sean Ellington, who made Broadway debut as a swing in Hell's Kitchen and served as a standby on the national tour of Hamilton, will star as Davis. JonAvery Worrell, who was seen in the national tour of Jason's Lyric, plays Knuck. They join Maya Drake as Ali, Kennedy Caughell as Jersey and Roz White as Miss Liza Jane.
The full ensemble features Stemarciae Bain, Miya Bass, Jaylen T. Bryant, Rashada Dawan, Sherée Marcelle Dunwell, ’Zaiah Ellis, Mae-Lynn Flores, Marques Furr, Destini Hendricks, Jeffrey May Hyche, Alfred Jackson, GiGi Lewis, Christopher Miller, Usman Ali Mughal, Chikezie Nwankwo, Sangeetha "Sang" Santhebennur, Marley Soleil, Beda Spindola, Asten Stewart, Teetee, Sydney Townsend, Timothy Wilson and Ethan Zundell.
Hell’s Kitchen follows Ali as she navigates her dynamic family, the neighborhood that shapes her and the transformative power of music. Directed by Michael Greif with choreography by Camille A. Brown and a book by Kristoffer Diaz, the show is fueled by a score of Keys’ greatest hits and new songs written exclusively for the stage.
The musical, from 17-time Grammy winner Keys, won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and continues to play at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre in New York City.