13 Oct 2026
Ovation Rights, the leading independent entertainment rights company, founded by Jamie Hendry and Philip Green, today announced a long-term partnership with 17-time Grammy Award-winning artist and producer Alicia Keys around the future of Hell’s Kitchen, the Broadway musical inspired by her life and music.
Through the transaction, Ovation Rights has acquired the economic interests previously held by the original Broadway production company, providing investors with an immediate capital return rather than waiting for future distributions over many years.
The investment establishes Ovation Rights as a long-term partner in Hell’s Kitchen while demonstrating a model that could have broader significance for Broadway: providing investors with another way to realize the value of successful theatrical investments, while introducing patient, long-term capital to established productions.
In a statement, Jamie Hendry & Philip Green, Founders, Ovation Rights, said: “We believe enormously in Hell’s Kitchen and its long-term future and we’re delighted to partner with Alicia on what comes next. This transaction demonstrates something we think could be important for Broadway. Investors have historically had limited opportunities to realise the value of their investment other than waiting for distributions over many years. We hope Ovation Rights can provide another route to liquidity by allowing investors to realise value and potentially recycle that capital directly into new productions.
Broadway productions can generate economic value for many years beyond their original run, through financial interests in touring, international productions and other subsidiary rights. For investors, however, realizing that value has traditionally depended largely on receiving distributions as those revenues are generated over time.
Ovation Rights believes there is an opportunity to develop a more active secondary market for theatrical investment: providing liquidity to existing investors while taking a long-term position in the future economics of proven theatrical properties.
The model offers the potential to help capital circulate more freely through the Broadway ecosystem, giving investors greater flexibility and the opportunity to reinvest in new work while introducing long-term capital to established productions.
In a statement, Alicia Keys said: “Dreaming big has always been at the heart of Hell’s Kitchen—not only in the story we tell, but in creating space on Broadway and beyond for new faces, new voices and people who may have never imagined themselves as part of this community,” said Alicia Keys. “This partnership with Ovation Rights not only rewards the original investors who took a chance on a new, original musical, but creates exciting new possibilities for better supporting the people who take that same leap of faith on new work, new artists and new members of the Broadway community. I’m excited and inspired by what this partnership represents and by the doors it can open.”
In a statement, Aaron Lustbader, Executive Producer of Hell’s Kitchen, said: “As Broadway faces new challenges, the industry needs innovative ideas and new pathways for serving our investors’ collective best interests, while accelerating their return from what could otherwise be measured in decades to a much shorter timeframe. With this partnership, Ovation Rights is positioning Hell’s Kitchen to set a new precedent for how Broadway capitalization can blossom into meaningful returns on a faster timeline. Jamie and Phil’s dedication and care to securing the show’s long-term runway represents a truly modern approach to the current issues theatrical finance faces and will, in turn, represent a threshold moment for the industry at a crucial time.”
Featuring music and lyrics by Alicia Keys and a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz, Hell's Kitchen is a coming-of-age story inspired by Keys' childhood in New York City. The musical opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in April 2024 following its world-premiere engagement at The Public Theater and received 13 Tony Award nominations, winning two.
The production has continued to build a life beyond Broadway, including a North American tour, with additional opportunities for the musical's future development anticipated.