The play is currently in pre-production
Prince’s Purple Rain is being adapted for Broadway. The Hollywood Reporter says the stage adaptation will feature music and lyrics from the pop star’s 1984 Purple Rain album and film with the book penned by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, based on the original screenplay written by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn. Lileana Blain-Cruz will direct with Orin Wolf producing.
The project is being helmed by Primary Wave Music founder and CEO Larry Mestel and NorthStar Group Chairman L. Londell McMillan.
“It’s been almost 40 years since Prince’s legendary film, Purple Rain, took the world by storm and we can’t think of a more fitting tribute than to honor Prince and the Purple Rain, legacy with this stage adaptation of the beloved story,” Mestel and McMillan state. “We are thrilled with our Broadway partners and creative team, who are bringing a theatricality to the film’s original fictional story. We can’t wait for a new generation to discover Purple Rain and for lovers of the original film and album to experience its power once again, this time live.”
Additional details, including timing and location, are forthcoming.
Prince created Purple Rain to launch his career as a superstar. In the film, he played The Kid, a young musician struggling with an abusive home situation while competing with a rival singer and exploring a new romance. The film and accompanying soundtrack album were released by Warner Bros. The film grossed more than $70 million at the box office while the album has sold more than 25 million units globally, and features some of Prince’s greatest hits, including the title track, “When Doves Cry, “I Would Die 4 U,” and others.
