Serena Williams has joined the producing team for the national tour of Hell’s Kitchen, the Broadway musical written by and partly based on the teenage years of Grammy winner Alicia Keys, producers announced Tuesday.
Williams will serve as a co-producer for the touring staging, which features many of Keys’ best-known songs and is scheduled to begin its North American run in Cleveland next month. The announcement described the move as Williams’ first formal role as a producer on a Broadway show.
"I was blown away when I saw HELL’S KITCHEN on Broadway last summer," Williams said in a news release. "I am proud to join the producing team of my first ever Broadway show and support Alicia and the amazing company of HELL’S KITCHEN as they get ready to light up the country on tour. Go see HELL’S KITCHEN when it comes to a city near you!"
Keys, a 17-time Grammy winner who wrote the show, welcomed Williams to the creative team. "Our show is all about dreaming big and there is no one who embodies that spirit quite like Serena Williams," Keys said in a news release. "I am so excited to have Serena join the HELL’S KITCHEN family as a co-producer as we begin our North American tour...it just keeps getting better! We’re so grateful! Let's go!!!"
The precise nature of Williams’ producing duties was not specified. Producers on large-scale touring musicals typically take on a range of responsibilities that can include financing, creative input, marketing and community outreach; individual roles vary from show to show.
Adding a Broadway producing credit expands Williams’ growing business portfolio. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has invested in professional sports franchises, including minority stakes linked to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC, and she is involved with a planned WNBA expansion franchise in Toronto that is set to begin play in 2026 as the league’s 14th team.
Hell’s Kitchen opened on Broadway earlier this year and uses a jukebox format to weave Keys’ catalogue into a narrative set in the New York neighborhood where she grew up. Producers said the touring production will bring the Broadway staging and its cast to cities across the United States.
It was not immediately clear whether Williams planned any onstage appearances during the tour. Williams has made occasional entertainment appearances in recent years, including a brief appearance during a Super Bowl halftime show as a guest of performer Kendrick Lamar.
Tour dates and additional producing partners were not detailed in the announcement. Representatives for Williams and the Broadway production did not immediately provide further comment.
The move underscores a trend of athletes and entertainers broadening their business interests into live entertainment and live touring productions, leveraging their public profiles to support creative projects and expand their portfolios beyond sports and music.