Hell's Kitchen (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the 2023 musical Hell's Kitchen. The musical is based on semi-autobiographical plot about her upbringing in Manhattan in the 1990s, with music, lyrics by Alicia Keys and Adam Blackstone and book by Kristoffer Diaz. The cast album was released through Alicia Keys Records on June 7, 2024.[2]
In June 2023, Keys announced she had written her first jukebox musical Hell's Kitchen inspired by her own life and career in New York City.[4][5] The musical features some of Keys's best known songs, as well as new music written by Keys specifically for the musical: "The River," "Seventeen," and "Kaleidoscope".[6] "Kaleidoscope" was the first song released from the musical on March 22, 2024.[7]
In May 2024, during an interview on Today, Keys announced that the musical's cast album would be released in June that year, saying "We purposefully put it together so that you really get a sense of the entire arc of the show as you’re listening to it".[3] Keys further explained that listeners will be able to hear the songs in an exciting and new way, saying: "Every time you hear the song, it’s in a new way. You know this song, and you love it, but you’re hearing it in a way you’ve never heard before".[3] A deluxe edition of the album was announced in May 2025, containing three new bonus songs with new cast members.[8]
The Guardian praised Hell's Kitchen as a vibrant, emotionally charged Alicia Keys musical blending dazzling choreography, evocative set design, and refreshed hits, calling it Broadway-ready.[9]The New York Times highlighted the cast's vocal diversity in Hell's Kitchen, noting that Moon, Bean, and Dixon shine in distinct styles that harmonize seamlessly with Keys and Adam Blackstone's arrangements.[10]Variety described the album as more than a love story, portraying it instead as a heartfelt tribute to New York, girlhood, womanhood, and the women who guide us along the way.[11]Entertainment Weekly noted the clichés of jukebox musicals but summarized that Hell's Kitchen, inspired by Keys' teenage years, followed its sold-out Public Theater run with a debut at the Shubert Theatre.[12]Vulture praised it as a mother-daughter story, noting that strong performances transformed Keys' familiar songs into emotionally fresh interpretations.[13]
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