It sounds as if “Hell’s Kitchen” book writer Kristopher Diaz needed a reminder to be starstruck around Alicia Keys .

“The crazy thing is you hang out, and she’s just sweet and genuine and a real person, and you’re making art with her, you’re figuring out how we’re gonna crack these unique problems and puzzles of putting together a musical, and then you look up — you’re in her studio — and you look over her shoulder and there’s 14 Grammy Awards,” Diaz says during a recent phone interview from his home in New Jersey, “and you’re like, ‘Right, this is who I’m actually dealing with.’”

“Hell’s Kitchen” — built around the music of Keys, with a story inspired by her life — is about to launch its National Tour , which will play more than 30 cities in a year, at Playhouse Square in Clevel

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