My 1st Blog: Alicia Keys Heads To Broadway

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Alicia Keys Heads To Broadway

Singer will co-produce 'Stick Fly,' a play about an affluent black family in Martha's Vineyard, opening in December.
By Gil Kaufman

Alicia Keys
Photo: Gatwitch Ltd

Since releasing her debut, Songs in A Minor, 10 years ago, Alicia Keys has achieved plenty of landmarks in her life: two armloads of Grammys, a successful movie career and, recently, motherhood.

But the "Fallin' " singer is still pushing into new territory with her latest project, co-producing the Broadway premiere of the play "Stick Fly." The critically acclaimed work by Lydia R. Diamond will open on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in December, with previews beginning on November 18.

"This is a story that everybody can relate to," said Keys in a statement announcing her participation in the venture. "I'm passionate about this play because it is so beautifully written and portrays Black America in a way that we don't often get to see in entertainment. I know it will touch all audiences, who will find a piece of themselves somewhere inside this house."

"Stick Fly" tells the story of the LeVays, an affluent black family gathering at their Martha's Vineyard home to spend a summer weekend together. According to a description, "the adult sons, aspiring novelist Kent and golden boy plastic surgeon Flip, have each brought their respective ladies (one black and one white) to meet the parents. Food, drink and Trivial Pursuit tangle with class, race and identity politics in this contemporary comedy of manners."

Casting has not yet been announced for the Broadway production, which has garnered a number of awards since its premiere at Chicago's Congo Square Theatre in 2006.

Keys is balancing this latest project with the reissue of A Minor on Tuesday (June 28) and a mini-tour celebrating the album's 10th anniversary. The singer told MTV News that caring for 8-month-old son Egypt has actually made her a better artist.

"I feel like I'm definitely more creative," she said of her life since motherhood. "I'm more thoughtful about my plans and the things that I do, so overall everything is like a hundred times better."

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