Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Bound For Broadway

Prince’s landmark 1984 film and album Purple Rain is headed to Broadway as a stage musical. Appropriate playwright and Pulitzer finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is writing the book adapted from Albert Magnoli and William Blinn’s screenplay for the film.

The album Purple Rain arrived on June 25, 1984 and served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name which hit theaters the following month. Both the album and film — starring Prince (and featuring his band The Revolution) as an artist rising in the Minneapolis music scene — were integral in creating Prince’s iconic image and contained some of his most well known songs including “Purple Rain,” “When Doves Cry,” “The Beautiful Ones,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and more. The film and album garnered Academy and Grammy awards for The Purple One.

Like the film, the stage musical — with Tony Award-nominated director Lileana Blain-Cruz and producer Orin Wolf — will feature Prince’s music and lyrics. NorthStar Group Chairman L Londell McMillan and Primary Wave Music Founder and CEO Larry Mestel issued a join statement on the Purple Rain musical published in Playbill.

“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. 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.”

According to Playbill, development timeline and casting have yet to be revealed. A website for the project has been created and can be accessed here.