Hell’s Kitchen, the musical created and inspired by Grammy Award-winner Alicia Keys, will end its nearly two-year Broadway run on Sunday, February 22, at the Shubert Theatre, producers announced today.
By the time of the closing, the production is expected to have returned about 60% of its $22 million capitalization to investors, with additional returns expected from touring and international productions. Hell’s Kitchen currently is traveling the country in a multi-year national tour and will launch international productions in South Korea, Germany and Australia.
Just one of three new musicals still running from the 2023-2024 Broadway season, Hell’s Kitchen – The Outsiders and The Great Gatsby are the other two – has been a strong, if fluctuating, box office presence since its April 20, 2024 opening. At its peak that year, the show’s weekly gross hit $1.8 million (for the week ending June 23, 2024).
Watch on Deadline
The most recent figures, for the week ending January 11 of this year, the show posted a gross of $828,189, with attendance at 79% of the Shubert’s capacity.
Prior to the closing, original company member and Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon will return to the role of Davis (currently played by Ne-Yo) beginning Tuesday, January 27, remaining through the rest of the run.
Directed by Michael Greif with choreography by Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen features a book by Kristoffer Diaz and the music of Keys, featuring new songs and her greatest hits. In addition to Ne-Yo, current cast includes Amanda Reid, Kelsee Kimmel, Yolanda Adams and Lamont Walker II.
According to producers, the production has generated more than $100 million in ticket sales during its Broadway run. The show will have played nearly 800 performances on the Shubert stage upon conclusion of its engagement.
The musical made its world premiere October 24, 2023, at The Public Theater Off Broadway, running there until January 14, 2024, including a five-week extension.
Inspired by 17-time Grammy Award-winner Keys’ own experiences growing up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood adjacent to the Broadway theater district, Hell’s Kitchen is the coming-of-age story of the Keys-based Ali, originally played by Maleah Joi, who won a Tony Award as Best Leading Actress/Musical for her Broadway debut. (Kecia Lewis won the show’s other Tony, for Best Featured Actress/Musical; in all, Hell’s Kitchen was nominated for 13 Tonys including Best Musical).
With its popular Keyes score and vibrant choreography, the musical has made appearances on NBC’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, CBS’s Tony Awards, NBC’s The Voice, NBC’s Today, CBS Mornings, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Jeopardy, NBC’s The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Tamron Hall Show, MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Sherri.