B'way Update: Hell's Kitchen Transfers; Busch and Izzard Off-B'way

Maleah Joi Moon (right) in Hell's Kitchen.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Hell's Kitchen, the new musical employing the songs of and inspired by the life of pop singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, is transferring from its current home at the Public Theater to Broadway. Previews begin March 28 at the Shubert Theater with an opening set for April 20. The show runs at the Public until Jan. 14, 2024. Featuring a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz, direction by Michael Greif (Rent) and choreography by Camille A. Brown (for colored girls), Hell's Kitchen focuses on 17-year-old Ali, living in a cramped apartment with her single mom in Manhattan Plaza, finding love with an older boyfriend and discovering her musical talent with the aide of a commanding mentor. The score includes several Keys' biggest hits including "Fallin'," "Girl on Fire" and "Empire State of Mind" as well as four new songs.

Chris Lee and Maleah Joi Moon in
Hell's Kitchen.
Credit: Joan Marcus

“Good things take time and for 13 years, I’ve been dreaming, developing and finding inspiration for a musical based on my experience growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. Hell’s Kitchen is inspired by my life, but it’s not a biographical story. It’s a story about family relationships and identity: Who are we? Who do we want to be? Who are we becoming?” said Alicia Keys. “The score features new songs that I’m really excited to get out into the world alongside many of my album releases that you know but you’ve never heard like this – rearranged and reinterpreted. I’m honored to be a part of this Broadway season with so much incredible talent and great stories. I grew up with musical theater and have so many memories of standing on line at TKTS to see shows like Miss Saigon and Rent. For me, Hell’s Kitchen is also a New York story of finding your dreams and for me, this musical coming to Broadway is the embodiment of that idea. I’ve learned so much from the experience and the collaboration with Michael Greif, Camille A. Brown, Kristoffer Diaz and Adam Blackstone. I love and respect the art form so much and I’m excited to see it come to Broadway.”

“Hell's Kitchen is an extraordinary show, and we are thrilled to have it arriving at the Shubert Theater, where A Chours Line ran for 16 glorious years after transferring from The Public in 1975. Like that legendary show, Hell's Kitchen is a quintessentially New York story. Our audiences have ecstatically connected with the musical, seeing themselves and their own lives in the story of a extraordinary 17-year-old girl growing up and discovering her place in the world. Alicia Keys' is a brilliant artist whose deep humanity has always been at the heart of her creativity; in Hell's Kitchen, her luminescent spirit shines through her music and her story. This show is just what we are hungry for: a reason to feel optimistic about the world, a reminder of why we love New York City, a celebration of how art and love can overcome any barrier. It's an amazing theatrical debut for one of the world's greatest songwriters- it is going to touch millions of people.” Oskar Eustis, Public Theater Artistic Director.

Charles Busch

Off-Broadway Update: Legendary performer and playwright Charles Busch returns to the stage in Ibsen's Ghost: An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy, presented by Primary Stage in association with George Street Playhouse at 59E59 Theaters. Previews begin March 2 and opening night is March 14. Busch whose long-running hits include Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Psycho Beach Party, and The Lady in Questions will star as Susannah Ibsen, widow of the celebrated Norwegian playwright, out to save his reputation against a potentially devastating scandal. Coincidentally, An Enemy of the People by Ibsen will be opening on Broadway on March 18...

Tony nominated actor-comedian Eddie Izzard will star in an ambitious solo version of Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Greenwich House Theater, Jan. 25--March 3 (opens Feb. 11). The adaptation is by Izzard's brother Mark and will be directed by Selena Caddell. They also work together on Izzard's solo version of Great Expectations. Izzard was Tony nominated for her performance in Joe Egg. Her London stage credits include The Cryptogram, Edward II, 900 Oneonta, Joe Egg, and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. On film and TV, Izzard’s career includes the Emmy Award-winning stand-up “Dressed to Kill,” the FX series “The Riches,” the film “Victoria & Abdul” opposite Judi Dench.

Eddie Izzard
Credit: Amanda Searle

2023-24 Broadway/Off-Broadway Schedule
Winter 2023-24
Dec. 5--Manhatta (Public)
Dec. 10--How To Dance in Ohio (Belasco)
Dec. 11--Madwomen of the West (Actors Temple)
Dec. 13--Buena Vista Social Club (Atlantic Theater Company/Linda Gross)
Dec. 17--The Night of the Iguana (La Femme Theater Prods./Signature Center)
Dec. 18--Appropriate (Second Stage/Hayes)
Jan. 9--Prayer for the French Republic (MTC/Friedman)
Jan. 17--Public Obscenities (TFANA/Polonsky Center)
Jan. 21--Aristocrats (IRT)
Jan. 28--Days of Wine and Roses (Studio 54)
Jan. 30--Sunset Baby (previews begin; opening TBA) (Signature Theater)
Feb. 1--The White Chip (Frankel Theater/MCC Theater)
Feb. 6--The Connector (MCC)
Feb. 8--Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy (Vineyard Theater)
Feb. 11--Hamlet (Solo version with Eddie Izzard) (Greenwich House)

Feb. 14--I Love You So Much I Could Die (NYTW)
Feb. 15--The Ally (Public) (previews begin; opening TBA)
Feb. 21--Teeth (previews begin; opening TBA) (Playwrights Horizons)
Feb. 26--Pericles (CSC)
Feb. 29--Doubt: A Parable (Roundabout/AA)
TBA--Brooklyn Laundry (MTC/City Center Stage I)
TBA--The Seven Year Disappear (The New Group/Signature Center)

Spring 2024

March 11--Corruption (LCT/Mitzi Newhouse)

March 12--My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) (Lyceum)

March 14--The Notebook (Schoenfeld)

March 14--Ibsen's Ghost (Primary Stages/59E59)

March 18--An Enemy of the People (Circle in the Square)

March 19--Fish (previews begin; opening TBA) (Keen Co./Theater Five) 

March 21--Water for Elephants (Imperial)

March 24--Philadelphia, Here I Come (IRT)

March 28--The Who's Tommy (Nederlander)

March 28--Sally and Tom (Public) (previews begin; opening TBA)

April 2--Mary Jane (previews begin; opening TBA) (MTC/Friedman) 

April 2--Orlando (previews begin; opening TBA) (Signature Theatre)

April 5--Macbeth (an undoing) (TFANA/Polonsky Center)

April 11--The Outsiders (Jacobs)

April 11--Jordans (Public) (previews begin; opening TBA)

April 12--Staff Meal (previews begin; opening TBA) (Playwrights Horizons)

April 14--Lempicka (Longacre)

April 17--The Wiz (Marquis)

April 18--Suffs (Music Box)

April 20--Hell's Kitchen (Shubert)

April 20/21--Cabaret (August Wilson)

April 22--The Heart of Rock and Roll (James Earl Jones)

April 24--Uncle Vanya (LCT/Vivian Beaumont)

April 25--Mother Play (Second Stage/Hayes)

April 30--Tony Nominations Announced

April 30--Three Houses (previews begin; opening TBA) (Signature Theatre)

April--Here There Are Blueberries (NYTW)

May 2--Wine in the Wilderness (previews begin; opening TBA) (CSC)

June 5--Home (Roundabout/AA)

June 12--The Welkin (Atlantic Theater Company)

June 16--Tony Awards (David Koch Theater/Lincoln Center)

June--Cats (Perelman Performing Arts Center)

TBA--All of Me (The New Group/Signature Center)

TBA--Jonah (Roundabout/Laura Pels)

Fall 2024

King Lear (Kenneth Branagh Theater Company/The Shed)

2024-25

Our Town

Smash

Tammy Faye

Spring 2025

Show Boat (Target Margin/NYU Skirball)

Future--Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death; Beaches the Musical; Black Orpheus; BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical; Come Fall in Love--The DDLJ Musical; Death Becomes Her; The Devil Wears Prada; Ella: An American Miracle; Everybody's Talking About Jamie; Frida, the Musical; Game of Thrones; The Great Gatsby; The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation; High Noon; Imitation of Life; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; The Karate Kid; La La Land; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; The Mousetrap; Nancy Drew and the Mystery at Spotlight Manor; Pal Joey; The Queen's Gambit; Rear Window; The Nanny; The Normal Heart/The Destiny of Me; The Secret Garden; Sing Street; Soul Train; What a Wonderful World; Working Girl.

2023-24 Broadway Season Breakdown:
New Plays:
The Cottage
Grey House
I Need That
Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Mother Play
Prayer for the French Republic
The Shark Is Broken

New Musicals:

Back to the Future

Days of Wine and Roses

Harmony

The Heart of Rock and Roll

Hell's Kitchen

How to Dance in Ohio

Lempicka

The Notebook

Once Upon a One More Time

The Outsiders

Suffs

Water for Elephants

Play Revivals:

Appropriate

Doubt: A Parable

An Enemy of the People

Home

Mary Jane

Purlie Victorious

Uncle Vanya

Musical Revivals:

Cabaret

Gutenberg! The Musical

Here Lies Love

Merrily We Roll Along

Monty Python's Spamalot

The Who's Tommy

The Wiz

Solos/Specialties:

Alex Edelman: Just for Us

Melissa Etheridge: My Window

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)