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NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Alicia Keys’<\/a> semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age Broadway musical is all grown up and leaving the nest. And, like any happy parent, Keys may visit it every once in a while.<\/p>\n A new \u201cHell’s Kitchen\u201d<\/a> cast has assembled in Cleveland for a national tour<\/a> that will take them to the South, Midwest and West on a 28-city parade through 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels so good to know that it\u2019s going to go across the country and this cast, let me tell you, is out of control. They\u2019re so good,\u201d Keys says. \u201cObviously, everybody can\u2019t get to New York City. Everybody can\u2019t go to Broadway.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who catch the musical on the road may also get an extra treat. Keys says she\u2019s liable to show up on some stops as a fairy godmother as it crosses the nation.<\/p>\n \u201cI love, as an artist, bringing my energy to other artists. That\u2019s really a fulfilling feeling. So, I\u2019ll be fairy godmothering. You never know where you\u2019ll see me.\u201d<\/p>\n A coming-of-age story<\/p>\n \u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen\u201d<\/a> is about 17-year-old New York piano prodigy fueled by Keys songs like \u201cFallin\u2019,\u201d<\/a> \u201cNo One,\u201d \u201cGirl on Fire,\u201d \u201cIf I Ain\u2019t Got You,\u201d as well as several new songs, including \u201cKaleidoscope.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n It centers on a young woman named Ali, who like Keys, is the daughter of a white mother and a Black father and is growing up in a subsidized housing development just outside Times Square in the once-rough neighborhood called Hell\u2019s Kitchen. She learns to hone her music skills, falls in love and reconciles with her sometimes overbearing mom.<\/p>\n Keys hopes audiences will come for her music, the story and the diverse cast: \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to be able to go somewhere and see yourself on the stage or to see your experience played out.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ali on tour is 18-year-old Maya Drake, a recent high school graduate from San Jose, California, who endured a long, rigorous audition process. She was a fan of Keys before the musical popped up on her radar.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that I get to be in a show with somebody else\u2019s music and, of all the people, it gets to be her \u2014 I got so lucky with that,\u201d says Drake. \u201cJust to have that connection is so special, and it makes the show feel 10 times more enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of her audition process, Drake came to New York to watch \u201cHell’s Kitchen\u201d on Broadway, starring Jade Milan as Ali. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot seeing it for the first time and she never leaves the stage,\u201d says Drake, who remembers thinking: \u201cTo be a part of something that big would just be crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n After the tour cast was announced, the actors were invited onstage at the Shubert Theatre to cheers after a performance, and Drake got to meet and speak to veterans like Jessica Vosk and Kecia Lewis<\/a>, who won a Tony Award in the show.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a really special moment,\u201d she says. \u201cSharing advice and getting insight from the people that are currently doing the show helped us understand what you\u2019re about to get into and some things that can help.\u201d<\/p>\n