[1][2] The musical, with a book by Kristoffer Diaz, initially ran at The Public Theater in October 2023,[3][4] having its Broadway debut at the Shubert Theatre on April 20, 2024, followed by a cast recording on June 7, 2024.

[9] In a 2023 interview for Ebony, Keys explained that she was inspired by its "story about a Black family in Martha's Vineyard" and that at that time "there was less diversity in so many ways, particularly in film and television, and definitely in theater".

Jersey, a singer and working woman who supports Rudy Giuliani's rhetoric and policies on increased policing, notices Ali talking to Knuck, a bucket drummer who is part of a group that hangs out in the building, and forces them to break off their interaction ("The Gospel").

Ali's awkward attempt proves unsuccessful, with Knuck turning her down; shortly after, he and the other drummers are kicked out of the building due to Jersey calling the police.

She stumbles into the Ellington Room by accident, where Miss Liza Jane makes her sit down for a piano lesson, teaching her some basic music theory.

Ali rides the high of her relationship and her newfound love of music with the encouragement of Jessica, despite Tiny warning her of the danger ("Girl on Fire").

Ali falls asleep in the Ellington Room while looking for Liza Jane; when she wakes up she discovers Davis, who tries to bond with her by playing a song together ("If I Ain't Got You").

The two part on amicable terms; though Ali is saddened that they have no chance of a relationship due to her youth and his moving, she finds solace in realizing she has made an adult decision for the first time.

When she returns home, however, she discovers the normally music-laden building silent; she encounters Jersey who tearfully informs her of Miss Liza Jane's passing.

She admits sorrow over Knuck's departure and Miss Liza Jane's passing, but continues to pursue music and expresses fondness for her community in Hell's Kitchen ("Empire State of Mind").

[15][16] According to Keys, the musical is a "love story between a mother and a daughter",[17] and in an interview on Good Morning America, she stated that the play describes "the experience of growing up in New York City, really chasing a dream, trying to find who you are, discovering your identity, and really following your heart, ultimately".

[27] On March 22, 2024, Keys performed the song "Kaleidoscope" with the musical's lead actress Maleah Joi Moon and the cast on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

[36][37][38] In a 5 out of 5 star review, Lauren Mechling of The Guardian wrote that "If this show doesn't bullet to Broadway, we should all give up", appreciating the set design, choreography and the songs lyrics and rhythms, which "have been refreshed for the purposes of the story, and not a single tune feels obligatorily wedged in".

[39] Sara Holdren of Vulture stressed that Hell's Kitchen "is unquestionably a slick commercial machine" and "able to pull off the feat of making the musically familiar feel brand new", avowing the "and-trite as often as it does because of the sheer force of its performances".

Tinubu affirmed that even if "sometimes feel cliché, bordering on corny", the cast "dynamism keeps the show from falling into pure melodrama", becoming "a quintessential musical".

[42] Charles McNulty of Los Angeles Times wrote that Hell's Kitchen "made a believer of this jukebox musical denier", pointing out that it "soars whenever the gifted cast is singing one of Keys' brilliantly reinterpreted hits.

[36] In a mixed review, Helen Shaw of The New Yorker wrote that the musical sometimes appeared as "a private communication, one not meant to be shared more widely", comparing it to The Gardens of Anuncia by Michael John LaChiusa because of their "certain cipher-like quality" and narration about "women with precocious success look back at their driven childhoods and edit out their grind and ambition in favor of a warm appreciation for their caretakers".