Alicia Keys Strikes “Hell’s Kitchen” Deal To Speed Investor Payouts

Alicia Keys struck a deal with Ovation Rights to speed up payouts for the original Broadway investors in “Hell’s Kitchen,” even as those backers remained on track to get less than their money back.

Ovation acquired the original Broadway production company’s share of future income through a long-term partnership with Keys.

The stakes became clear in an investor email reviewed by Broadway Journal. Executive producer Aaron Lustbader said the original backers would recover roughly 90% of their investment in total after the deal.

The Broadway production had raised $22 million and closed at a loss in February.

Investors will receive two lump-sum payments. The sale covered the Broadway company’s revenue share from August 1 onward, including the cast album, merchandise, the North American tour, a Seoul production and future stagings.

The price was not disclosed. That 90% covered investors’ total recovery, including earlier payouts.

The agreement also included partial payments of royalties deferred during the show’s run, Lustbader told investors.

Keys wrote the show’s music and lyrics, working with book writer Kristoffer Diaz to bring it to the stage. She said the deal could help more artists get new work onto Broadway.

“I’m excited and inspired by what this partnership represents and by the doors it can open,” she said.

Ovation’s founders said they wanted to give Broadway investors another way to cash out, rather than wait for years of income from tours and other rights. They said that could free up funds for new shows.

Ovation had already pursued theatrical rights before joining Keys. In January 2025, the company announced its purchase of Richard Stilgoe’s interests in works including

“The Phantom of the Opera” and “Starlight Express,” supported by a capital commitment from funds managed by BlackRock.

For “Hell’s Kitchen,” the next chapter was already playing out beyond New York. Keys told The Associated Press at the tour’s launch last year that taking the show on the road would reach people who couldn’t get to Broadway.

The musical, which opened on Broadway in 2024, has a Toronto engagement at the Ed Mirvish Theatre through October 25. Its North American tour runs through August 2027.