Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Musical to Get Broadway Debut

Prince is heading to Broadway. Purple Rain, a musical adaptation of Prince’s 1984 album and film of the same name, will debut on Broadway next year.

“Everything that Prince did in his career was so theatrical,” producer Orin Wolf told Billboard. “So it’s just an organic move from the film to the stage.”

Preview performances will begin March 12 at New York City’s Majestic Theatre. Opening night will follow exactly one month later. Tickets will go on sale in September.

The musical, which is being helmed by Saheem Ali, will feature more than 20 of Prince’s iconic hits. Included in the show are songs such as “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” and “The Beautiful Ones.”

Set in Minneapolis in 1984, the musical takes place at a time when a new era of music television was creating overnight stars.

“A magnetic young performer known as ‘The Kid’ seems like the perfect frontman to lead his bandmates to stardom,” the show’s log line reads. ”But when his past threatens everything he’s built, he’ll have to sing his way out of the darkness and into the spotlight where he belongs.​”

What to Know About Prince’s Purple Rain

In his interview, Wolf expressed excitement over the fact that “Purple Rain really was something that came from Prince’s own imagination—not just the song and the album, but the story of The Kid, the idea of telling a story about what it was like to grow up in the mid ’80s in Minneapolis and to come up in that scene.”

“A lot of things were inspired by his own experience as an artist and his life,” Wolf added. “But truly, this was an invention of his, and that was fascinating to me.” 

The Broadway news comes less than a year after Purple Rain held its world premiere in Minneapolis. At the time, Kris Kollins played The Kid, Rachel Webb starred as Apollonia, and Jared Howelton took on the role of Morris.

Casting decision for the show’s Broadway run have yet to be announced.

Prince died before work began on the musical. However, Wolf noted that the late musician had considered bringing his music to Broadway before.

“Prince did talk about it. He talked about the idea of this being done on stage. It wasn’t something that he had gotten to do yet, but it was certainly not a secret. It was certainly something that he understood could happen,” Wolf said. “So I think when I approached [the estate], there was an openness to it for that reason.” 

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns