Up next in 10
Video: Alicia Keys on HELL'S KITCHEN- 'This Is Our Story'
Mar 22, 2024
The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and Hell's Kitchen is on Broadway this spring. The new musical is the first from music superstar Alicia Keys, who grew up in the titular neighborhood. In this video, watch as she chats more about the creative process and what audiences can expect.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
No matter where you grew up or how, you know, you've experienced your life
0:04
you have a connection to this experience. You have it in some form
0:09
You have a connection to it through the mother's lens where you are, you know
0:13
wanting to protect those you love. You have an experience through it. As we've all been a 17-year-old and everybody knows what it felt like to be 17
0:23
You're only 17 at one time and everything gets on your nerves
0:27
and you just want to be left alone to do what you know is right
0:32
And why doesn't anybody leave you alone? Because your brain just don't work
0:36
Because your brain just don't work. That's right. And you have that reconnection with that younger you
0:44
And then you have this connection with, you know, relationships in your life that, you know
0:48
maybe weren't the healthiest or maybe didn't bring you all that you needed
0:53
but you find later that it gave you actually exactly what you were supposed to
0:57
to have. So to have Allie at the center, to have a young
1:00
woman of color at the center of this piece is exactly how it's supposed to be
1:07
because that's what Hell's Kitchen looks like. You know? And this, when you see the production
1:14
it looks like the city. It looks like my New York City. His New York City
1:21
His New York City, her New York City. It our New York City You know what I mean And so I I think it feels really exhilarating what you discover because even you actually discover how much of Jersey story this is
1:35
You think you're going there to get Allie story. You actually are going there to get Jersey story as well
1:41
So there is such a, you know, there's just so many surprises, I think, to it
1:46
But I think your question and your point of really seeing this dynamic, diverse
1:52
group of people and this really particularly dynamic woman played by Malia Joy Moon
1:59
young woman, you know claiming her space and trying to find her way and that's why that tagline
2:05
remember where dreams begin is so important for this because we all have to remember that
2:11
you know whether you're at the beginning of your dream in the middle of a dream
2:15
towards the end of the whatever version you're in we all have to
2:19
remember where they begin you know so that we can keep them going. So it's pretty thrilling
2:26
I can't underplay the excitement. There's no way to underplay it. It's tremendous
2:32
Even seeing this poster all over on the street, it's like, yeah
2:37
And as many young girls and young boys, and people are going to say
2:41
man, that's me. That's me. This is my story. This is who I am
2:46
This is my sister. That's my, this is our story. So it's really exciting to be able to do
2:51
do that When we opened the box office there was a group of young kids PS They said we from PS And I was like I from PS And everybody just started throwing out their PSs
3:06
That's a New York thing. I'm like, wow. Like, I was that kid. That was me. That was us. And so it just really was quite profound. And so that through line that is possible for us to find our way somehow is really strong in this piece. And it lands
3:24
You know, my mother was raised in Toledo, Ohio, and she is the quintessential New York story
3:32
You know, she is the girl that escaped the small town to come to New York to pursue her dream of acting and dancing
3:41
And her mother, the story goes, her mother made her do one year at Toledo University
3:47
And so after she finished the one year at Toledo University, she eagerly escaped and went to NYU
3:54
And so much of my childhood was really based around watching and experiencing her in this space, in the theater, in this creative universe
4:06
And I would, you know, she also had a day job. She was a paralegal
4:11
And I would fall asleep simultaneously under her desk as a paralegal and also in the chairs of all the theaters that she went to
4:19
And so for me, I remember the first time she was playing this particular part and the guy
4:24
I was being super mean to her and I started crying He mean why is is he doing that to you And that was my first you know understanding that you know this is when you recreate real life in these ways
4:36
And so I think because of that, that really took a big
4:41
that was a big influence on my younger years and we would go to the TKS line and
4:46
get the lesser price tickets so we could afford it and we would go see a bunch of
4:52
Broadway together. So this is a big, big memory that I have
4:56
of my creative experience as a young child. And, you know, we saw
5:00
shows like, I remember rent, obviously, who doesn't? I remember. But it was big. It was big for me because I was seeing
5:07
songs delivered in a way that I wanted to go home and play them on the piano. I remember going
5:12
home and wanting to play songs on the piano. I remember I felt that way about bringing the noise
5:17
bringing the funk. I felt like, wow, I was seeing this other version of like, me
5:22
music in a way and theater in a way that was unique and different
5:27
And so I think that was the reason why doing this story for the theater felt so, as a musical
5:34
felt so right because the stories are so deep and so resonant
5:41
And because this was her passion and therefore a passion of mine and it taught me so much
5:47
about the creative process, it felt like it would be such a beautiful way to put that all
5:50
together with music and dance and create this kind of, you know, mixed, mixing these universes
5:57
and worlds together
#Entertainment Industry
#Teen Interests
#Broadway & Musical Theater