ENTERTAINMENT
Photo Credit: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys perform onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 13, 2009 in New York City. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Hell's Kitchen, a semi-autobiographical musical inspired by Alicia Keys’ New York upbringing, is a hit with audiences and critics – and is now a two-time Tony Award winner. Newcomer Maleah Joi Moon won for her first time on Broadway, along with Kecia Lewis, a veteran of four decades on the stage. But what brought the house down during the opening of the 2024 Tony Awards show at Lincoln Center was the surprise appearance by Jay-Z, who reunited with Keys for their first performance since 2016 of “Empire State of Mind,” their anthem to their New York hometown. Hell's Kitchen is set in a tiny apartment in the title neighborhood, where 17-year-old Ali, played by Moon, has big dreams and a wary mother. She falls for a young drummer and befriends a piano teacher in her building. She and her mother learn what Ali's future can hold — and the racial and coming-of-age obstacles she'll have to overcome to make her dreams come true. Loosely based on Keys’ journey to an acclaimed music career, which has earned her 16 Grammys, the show features some of her biggest hits – "Fallin'," "If I Ain't Got You," and "Empire State of Mind" – and previously unheard songs. “Jukebox Musicals” like Hell’s Kitchen, built around an artist’s popular catalog, have been very successful on Broadway. Think “Tina” and “MJ: The Musical, ” among others.
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