Alicia Keys’ Broadway musical leads Tony Awards with 13 nominations

A Broadway musical based on the life and music of Alicia Keys is a Tony Awards favorite. “Hell’s Kitchen,” featuring Keys’ music and loosely based on her teenage years, earned 13 nominations at the Tony Awards, including best musical and several nods for acting.

Keys, who wrote the show’s score and arranged its music, shared in an interview that she lost her mind when she learned the show’s nominations. “I kind of lost it, kind of freaked out, and I was super excited, particularly that all of the collaborators on this project are seeing so much love and so much greatness for their brilliance. I’m so excited for everybody and for Hell’s Kitchen. It’s just like, “Whoa!,” she said to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Hell’s Kitchen” follows a 17 year old girl who embraces music and her community as she copes with her complex relationship with her mother. While it’s not completely based on Keys’ life, it’s based on her teenage experience. Alongside book writer Kristoffer Diaz and director Michael Grief, Keys had been working on this story for the past 13 years.

More about this year’s Tony Awards

Nominees for the Tony Awards were announced this morning, with “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Stereophonic” leading with 13 nominations each. The latter play is a threhour production set in a recording studio, following a Fleetwood Mac style band in the 70’s as they clash while making their latest record.

Other musical nominees include “Illinoise,” “The Outsiders,” “Water for Elephants,” and more.

The Tony Awards will air on June 16th, on CBS and Paramount+. The show will be hosted by Ariana DeBose, at the Lincoln Center in New York City.