Video: Meet the Company of Alicia Keys' New Musical- HELL'S KITCHEN

Hey, Broadway World. It's me Katie Lynch here in Hell's Kitchen to celebrate the incredible new Broadway show, Hell's Kitchen, opening at the Schubert Theater on April 20th

And tonight, we get to chat with the incredible creative team and cast

I thought it was interesting tonight. Michael said its love story to a very specific neighborhood of New York, which is our theater district

House Kitchen is our hood. So that's really special. I don't know. Anyone who has moved here with a dream

and has survived to see any portion of that dream come to fruition, you know, in this city

which is not an easy city to live in, nor succeed in. It's hard enough to just survive here, let alone thrive, you know

So I think the cool thing about this show is it just makes you very proud to be a New Yorker

and to be an artist in New York. What is it that drew you to this project so strongly

Alicia, one, someone I've wanted to work with for decades. Definitely on my bucket list of people

So to get the opportunity, it was a no-brainer. But also the woman that I'm playing, I'm loosely based on her real-life mother, Terry

And just that story of this woman who came to New York with dreams of being an actress, being on Broadway

ended up getting pregnant and deciding to not only keep the child but parent her alone, essentially

and how her life changed because of that. And in so doing, we haveoga Keys

And that, to me, was fascinating as someone who does not have children

as someone who can see sacrificing very little for her dream Like I just think that my dreams my career what I came here for is always the priority

So it was just fascinating for me to be like, who is this woman and what is the story

And what's interesting is Terry doesn't think of it as a sacrifice. It was just sort of like, let's just what I did

I'm really excited from far more people to see it than got to see it out of the public, you know

Bigger theater, longer round. I mean, obviously there are certain things that we're shaping or we're tweaking a little bit

but if you loved it down to the public, you're going to love it on Broadway. And if you didn't get a chance to see it at the public, you didn't miss anything

because we're bringing the same wonderful show to you on Broadway. And what is it that you love about this show

I love that it's a coming-of-age story about a young girl, a young black girl in New York City

I think it's great. And I also think it's great that the unique nature of this particular girl

and the unique nature of her relationship with her single mother makes it a coming of age story for anybody

and particularly for any girl of any age or any creed, stripe or color

I mean, I'm absolutely ecstatic. This is my 40th anniversary in show business

I started in 1984. My first Broadway show was Dream Girls. And this is show number 10

And it's Hell's Kitchen. It's Alicia Keys, it's music. I mean, who's luckier than I am

I mean, there's so many things about the show that I love. I love, first and foremost, that it's a love story between a mother and a daughter

I love that it is a biracial mother and daughter. When have we seen that right I love that I get to play each night someone who pours into another human being in such a way that there an impact for the rest of their life

And I feel like that's so important, especially those of us who are growing older

I mean, we all are, but those of us kind of in my age group, I think it's criminal to not pour into people

And they don't have to be young, young. I mean, what are we here for if we're not going to use our gifts and talents to help others

I'm feeling very grateful. I'm very focused. Like, I want to do well

So, because, I mean, everyone's so good. Like, the talent is insane

The creative team is insane. And I really want to make sure that whoever would come behind me

whatever little kid could see this. And why does that? I want them to see something excellent

and I want them to have a new standard about how they do things on the stage

And if they follow my life after that, off the stage as well. So I'm really focused. You know, I'm really anxious and excited

You know, these are such iconic songs. And to actually create movements in them required me to enter and listen to it differently

So I was doing that, also listening to the new songs that were specifically for this work

And also how versatile each song was and how specific and layered it was inside of

that moment in the show. So I tried to create, using my own movement language, to create that

And I was able to tap into my concert dance side and of contemporary movement world

So people get to see that language as a part of me too I mean New York influence too I am I think New York is a reflection of the individuals that walk through the streets

And I have been, as many individuals there are, that is as many influences that I've had in terms of dance

So I had all styles, ballet, jazz, African, modern, hip-hop, everything. But what I wanted to do when I started choreographing myself was

how do I create all of these influences, how do I take all of these influences and bring my

voice forward? So what you're seeing is like a jambalaya of sorts, but it's Camille's jambalaya

What was it like delving into, and as I know a parent yourself, delving into a parent's story

Because that's something, a total different beast when you are a parent yourself

Yeah, I wasn't a parent when this started. I was about to become a parent when this started

almost exactly 12 years ago is my son's 12th birthday on Saturday

So now I have two. Alicia had one at the time. Now she has two

So that part for both of us, I think, not to put words in her mouth, but for both of us

we've been learning a lot about being parents at the time that we've been writing this show

And we've also been thinking about our relationships with our own parents

Her relationship with her mom is a real centerpiece of this. My relationship with both of my parents

while it's not similar to the relationship in the place can't help it inform what I do

At the core of this, you know, it's a show about communities, to show about music, it's a show about Alicia Keys

but also so much of it is that how hard it can be and how rewarding it can be

to develop a real, truthful, loving, open relationship with your parent. And as a parent, I can't wait to have those moments with my kids