Over the course of her career, Alicia Keys has proven that she can pull anything off — including head-to-toe denim.
Keys, 42, put her own spin on the Canadian tuxedo on Sunday, November 19, when she wore a structured cropped denim jacket with matching high-waisted denim pants with two front pockets and tiered stitching. Both the jacket and pants featured large gold buttons that traveled from Keys’ neck to past her waist, creating the illusion of a single jumpsuit.
Keys accessorized the fun ensemble with oversized gold earrings and thin simple rings on both hands. She wore her hair up in braids and opted for black winged eyeliner, silver eyeshadow and classic pink lipstick.
Keys sported the look when she attended the opening night of her new musical, Hell’s Kitchen, at The Public Theater in New York City. The singer looked relaxed as she posed with the cast and crew before heading inside.
Keys, who wrote the music and lyrics in the musical, worked with Pulitzer Prize-finalist playwright Kristoffer Diaz to create the coming-of-age tale.
The musical takes place in the 1990s. It follows 17-year-old Ali, who encounters tough lessons about race, love and growing up as she navigates her adolescence in New York City under the protective wing of her mother. When Ali makes an unexpected friend in a piano-playing neighbor, the course of her life is forever changed.
The musical’s plot is loosely based on Keys’ own life experiences, and includes not only many new songs but also some of the Grammy winner’s most famous and iconic songs.
Up-and-coming singer and actress Maleah Joi Moon plays Ali. In an interview with Vogue published on September 12, Keys explained her thought process behind creating the musical and her decision to collaborate with Diaz. “When I connected with Kris, like, he knew what I knew, and I knew what he knew,” Keys said, adding, “I remember just feeling so excited to be able to have that connection.”
As for her opinion on Moon?
“It was very hard to cast that part with that level of vocal skill, that level of street energy—because you have to innately have a certain vibe—and, on top of that, also have a beautiful naturalness and realness,” Keys told Vogue. “There’s no question that we’re watching a star be born.”
