Loosely based on a short period of time in the life of singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, the Tony and Grammy-winning Broadway smash “Hell’s Kitchen” is tuning up for a run from Aug. 11 to 16 at the San Diego Civic Theatre downtown.
For 17-time Grammy winner and pianist Keys – who has a home in La Jolla – and the show’s creative team, this premiere isn’t just a tour stop. It’s a bit of a local homecoming.
Hailed as a New York Times Critic’s Pick that is “thrilling from beginning to end – a rare must-see!”, “Hell’s Kitchen” is directed by five-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, with choreography by five-time Tony nominee Camille A. Brown. The musical is based on a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz and the music of Keys.
The coming-of-age musical tells the story of 17-year-old Ali, a fiery teen searching for her passion and purpose in a 1990s New York City neighborhood, guided by a musical mentor and a dynamic community.
Keys, now 45, wrote the music and lyrics for the show, which blends new music written specifically for the production with hit songs from her catalog, including “Fallin’,” “No One,” “Girl on Fire,” “If I Ain’t Got You” and “Empire State of Mind,” along with previously unreleased material.
“Hell’s Kitchen,” which began off-Broadway in 2023, won two 2025 Tony Awards and the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
While the story is rooted in Manhattan, the visual heartbeat of the production was crafted by UC San Diego Professor of Scenic Design, four-time Tony Award nominee Robert Brill.
Brill has been nominated for scenic design for “Assassins” (2004), “Guys and Dolls” (2009) and “Ain’t Too Proud” (2019), as well as “Hell’s Kitchen” (2024).
Brill designed the gritty, kinetic set for the production with firsthand knowledge.
“I actually lived in Hell’s Kitchen in the mid-’90s, just a few blocks north of Manhattan Plaza, where Alicia grew up and where the story takes place,” Brill told Times of San Diego.
His daughter, Sophia, attended preschool in the basement of Manhattan Plaza and later went to P.S. 212, housed in the same building as the Professional Performing Arts School Keys attended years earlier.
“So I have a lot of personal memories of that neighborhood and the incredible artistic community that surrounded it,” Brill said.
That history, of course, shaped his design approach.
Brill said he and Greif – who also has local connections as a former artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse – decided early on to put the show’s musicians inside the world of the story rather than off to the side, representing the artists who influenced Ali’s love of music.
As the design evolved alongside Keys’ desire to capture the energy and grit of New York, it became a layered mix of architecture, light and projections in constant motion.
“To me, that’s what living in New York feels like,” Brill said. “You’re always taking in new sights, sounds, people and energy. We wanted the set to capture that feeling — that sense that the city is constantly shifting around you — almost like looking through a kaleidoscope.”
Brill said working on the 11-time Tony-nominated production feeds directly back into his classroom at UCSD, where he’s been teaching since 2015. Brill is also a 1988 alumnus of UCSD’s undergraduate program in theater and dance.
“I get inspired by my students’ curiosity and creativity, and I get to bring my experiences from productions like ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ back into the classroom,” Brill said, noting that UCSD students collaborate with guest artists through a residency program at La Jolla Playhouse.
“It helps them understand that great design isn’t just about having a good idea — it’s about collaboration, communication, adaptability and continually growing as an artist.”
The local connections don’t stop at the stage design.
Born Alicia Augello Cook in New York City, Keys has since 2019 shared a home with her husband, Swizz Beatz (born Kasseem Daoud Dean) in coastal La Jolla near the Torrey Pines State Preserve. Keys’ footprint is also currently visible elsewhere in the regional arts scene.
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,” an exhibition showcasing nearly 40 Black diasporic artists from the couple’s collection, is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego through Sunday — closing just two days before the musical opens downtown.
Tickets for the show’s six-day run, at the Civic Theatre at 1100 Third St., start at $68 and are on sale at BroadwaySD.com. “Hell’s Kitchen’s” running time is 2 hours and 35 minutes, including one intermission.
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