Could a purple deluge could be heading toward Broadway soon? A stage musical based on the 1984 Prince film Purple Rain currently is being developed, Playbill.com reports.
Videos by American Songwriter
The production is being adapted from the movie’s screenplay, which was written by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn, and will feature the late Prince’s music and lyrics.
[RELATED: Dolly Parton Honors Prince with “Purple Rain” From New Rock Album Rockstar]
The book for the musical is being penned by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whose play Appropriate won a 2014 Obie Award for Best New American Play and is now running on Broadway. The production will be directed Lileana Blain-Cruz, who was nominated for a 2022 Tony Award in the Best Direction of a Play category for The Skin of Our Teeth.
About the Purple Rain Movie
The Purple Rain film starred Prince as The Kid, a talented but troubled musician from Minneapolis who fronts the up-and-coming rock band The Revolution. The movie also featured Clarence Williams III, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, and the real-life members of The Time, and Prince’s backing band.
Prince’s compositions for the film won him an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
About the Purple Rain Album
The movie’s soundtrack became Prince’s most successful album, spending 24 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album yielded four top-10 hits, including the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1’s “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy,” as well as the title track, which peaked at No. 2.
The album has gone on to sell more than 13 million copies in the U.S.
Statement from Musical’s Producers
“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,” said NorthStar Group chairman L. Londell McMillan and Primary Wave Music CEO Larry Mestel in a joint statement. “We are thrilled with our Broadway partners and creative team, who are bringing a theatricality to the film’s original fictional story.”
They added, “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.”
Fans interested in receiving news updates about the production can visit PurpleRainBroadway.com.
