Making his Broadway debut tonight (Thursday, March 28th), hell's kitchen is already one of the most anticipated new shows of the season. Many already know of Alicia Keys' neighborhood connections, but the team already has another creator with roots on the West Side. Set His designer Robert Brill based much of the show's composition on his era. He lives in Hell's Kitchen.
When the Tony Award-nominated designer is known for his distinctive visual work on shows such as Assassins, Guys and Dolls, Ain't Too Proud, How to Dance in Ohio, Bob Fosse's Dancin', Blockbuster hits of 1998 and 2014 cabaret Revivals and More — With Broadway in mind, he got a call from director Michael Greif about a project centered around Keyes' childhood growing up in Manhattan Plaza, and he jumped at the chance to revisit his former hometown.
“Even though I live on the West Coast now, I have deep ties to the region,” Robert told W42ST. “Living in Hell's Kitchen is an important chapter in my life, and Hell's Kitchen has always been a source of inspiration for me and my daughter, not to mention my love for Manhattan Plaza. So the opportunity to collaborate on this piece was When I visited, I knew this was going to be meaningful on many levels.”
Robert is currently based in California and works as a professor of design at the University of California, San Diego School of Theater and Dance, but in 1995 he and his ex-wife Loretta Greco (now artistic director of the Huntington Theater in Boston) created Hell's Kitchen. I fondly remember moving to . company). “We are both theater artists and were excited to find a vibrant community with the warmth of a brick-and-mortar location, but within easy reach of the vibrant Broadway and Off-Broadway scene.” Robert said. “The make-up of this neighborhood is incredibly diverse and family-friendly. It’s not always legible because it’s adjacent to the hustle and bustle of Times Square, but it caught our attention and we wanted to see how we could be a part of its story.” It gave me an opportunity to think about whether I could do it.”
in the same way hell's kitchen Ali finds inspiration all around her neighborhood. “This Midtown community was our creative hive,” Robert says of the two's time together at W. 47th Street. Luckily, there he could choose from “four different units in the same building.” He adds, “It kind of sets the tone for what's to come, where anything feels possible, and there's something satisfying about tackling the city's day-to-day challenges.” Ta.
Living and working in the neighborhood was also a “privilege,” Robert said. “My design studio is in the Garment District, PS212 is at 48 W, my home is at 47 W, and my work in the theater community brings something different every day, and that's what we played a major role in shaping his creative lifestyle.”
In addition to investing their artistic energy in the area, Robert and Loretta were also committed to raising their family in the neighborhood. Daughter Sophia was born in Hell's Kitchen and attends her 43rd Street Kids preschool in Manhattan Plaza and her PS212 in the same building where Alicia Keys enrolled in her professional performing arts school. did. “Just like our musical, we felt that raising children in this city is a rewarding experience, and that hardships can turn into virtues,” Robert said, adding that, like 43rd Street Preschool, He added that local organizations “provided a great education.” And nurturing a learning environment lays the foundation for us as parents to invest in the future of our communities. ”
“Who knows that growing up in this dynamic and diverse Midtown neighborhood was a valuable experience that helped Sophia grow into an adventurous, street-smart, empathetic person with a strong moral compass? I agree,” Robert said.
Manhattan Plaza, in particular, “became a second home” for the family, Roberts added, noting that it's where the family met lifelong friends such as Heidi Lutsky, Stephen Jones and their daughter Charlotte, members of Congress. It was through the Hell's Kitchen community, he said. “Nothing beats Halloween trick-or-treating across his 46 floors at Manhattan Plaza.”
When it came time to envision a stage-worthy homage to Hell's Kitchen, Robert turned to Heidi and Stephen to help him remember Manhattan Plaza's unique style, especially details like the building's many elevators and the Ellington Room. “The Ellington Room was a big place in the building where things happened,” Keyes said in an interview with EW. hell's kitchen setting. “This room is the heart of the community. People who grew up in Manhattan Plaza [and] people who came to see the show [have been] It was judged by how special the expression of this building and the character of this building was. ”
Robert, who photographed the building's exterior to capture the “rhythm of architecture,” found that “the visual world on stage will be streamlined. It's important to refresh your memory about its spaces and details.” he said. Hell's His time in his kitchen is heavily incorporated into the musical's design – hell's kitchen It happened in the early 1990s, “when I was starting to spend more time in New York as a young designer.”
Combining the immersive “overwhelming kaleidoscopic images, sights and sounds” of the region and the city as a whole, “the band on stage shaped Ali's creative realm and nurtured her passion,” the artist said. We started by exploring how we could represent our community of musicians and musicians.''It's all about the music,'' Robert said.
“This concept evolved into two towering structures housing the band, representing the iconic Manhattan Plaza towers,” he revealed. “From there, we began imagining a series of complex abstract structural elements that would reflect the architecture and the rhythm of the alternating balconies that make up the tower's façade. These elements would move dynamically throughout the performance. The aim is to create a fluid and ever-changing landscape that reflects the vibrancy of the city.”
Robert's evocative set and musical were a sold-out hit at the Public Theater and were quickly moved to Broadway's historic Shubert Theater in time for the 2024 Tony Award nomination period. Roberts said the new, larger space “will allow us to dramatically increase the set vertically” as the team makes tweaks ahead of tonight's first preview performance. “We've also integrated new technology enhancements that take the design's multi-layered experience to the next level. It was truly thrilling to design a space for this beautiful and emotional journey with Alicia's iconic music.” ” added the designer. “This is a reminder that anything is achievable.”
Although Hell's Kitchen has changed a lot since Robert first set foot on W. 47th Street, “I've always been drawn to the charm and tension that characterizes New York City, and I'm excited to see it evolve.” That's very interesting,” he said. “Certainly, we can all probably agree that 42nd Street has been given a facelift or two, and walking the streets of Hell's Kitchen has become a little less dangerous.
“That said, I have to admit that amidst all the rebranding, a small part of me misses the grit and cutting edge of its infamous past. “We have sacrificed some of our character and much of our bespoke charm,” he added, “but it’s great that there is still a resilient and thriving pioneer community!”
