CLEVELAND — Grammy-winning artist Alicia Keys is bringing her Broadway hit, Hell’s Kitchen, to Cleveland for its national tour launch.
The musical is inspired by her experiences growing up in New York City in the 1990s with her mother and wanting to live out her NYC dreams.
There will be a mix of her iconic songs and unreleased music.
On Broadway, the musical won two Tonys and a Grammy Award for best musical theater album.
This will be the second show of this caliber debuting in Cleveland; the first was the timeless love story The Notebook.
RELATED: 'The Notebook' launching North American tour with first stop in Cleveland
President and CEO of Playhouse Square Craig Hassall says opening two national shows back-to-back has been a lot of work for the crews, but it’s great for the local economy.
“Opening a show in Cleveland is good for so many reasons. The theaters are great; the staff are fantastic. and it's easy for New York to open a show here, which is for audiences, because these shows are completely fresh,” said Hassall.
Hassall says all of this was made possible because the state expanded its motion picture tax credit in 2023. It sets aside $5 million to attract theatrical productions.
Producers opening a show in Cleveland or elsewhere in the state receive a 30% refundable tax credit of their expenditures in Ohio, and 70% stays in Ohio.
It is paying huge dividends for Playhouse Square.
“So, we will be judged by how well the show is received and how how the cast and crew feel when they come to Cleveland. And based on the Notebook, they loved it. So far, Hell's Kitchen crews are having a great time. So, word spreads back to New York and they go, I think Cleveland could be the place to open a show,” said Hassall.
Besides Hell's Kitchen and The Notebook, the theatre has one more national show on the horizon for this season, with Spamalot, in December. And then another show, Death Becomes Her, is coming here in the fall of 2026.
Hell’s Kitchen begins Friday, Oct. 10 until November 1, so there is plenty of time to catch a show and keep on “Fallin” for Alicia Keys.
