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For the 40th anniversary of Prince’s iconic and innovative Purple Rain, the film and accompanying soundtrack album are being turned into a musical.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the stage adaptation of the 1984 box-office hit Purple Rain will include The Purple One’s original score. The musical, which is being brought to Broadway, will feature a book by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins that’s based on the Purple Rain screenplay. The new project will be helmed by Tony-nominated director Lileana Blain-Cruz.
Both the writer and director have experience with the theater. Jacobs-Jenkins, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, has a play named Appropriate on Broadway. Blain-Cruz is known for directing the play run of The Skin of Our Teeth on the revered platform.
In addition to pulling from Jacob-Jenkins’ book, the forthcoming musical will be based on Purple Rain’s original screenplay by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn. The new project is still being developed, so there’s no word on when Broadway tickets will be available.
The original film, which was loosely autobiographical, was released in 1984.
A brief synopsis on IMDB says, “A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.”
Globally, the movie reportedly grossed under $100 million. It also won the Oscar for Best Original Score in 1985 and was the first, and only Academy Award Prince received before passing in 2016.
The Purple Rain soundtrack spent 24 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. Its hit songs, such as “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” and the title track, are regarded as some of Prince’s most notable.
The album was the legendary entertainer’s sixth studio project, and it reportedly sold over 25 million copies worldwide, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“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,” noted L. Londell McMillan, the chairman of The NorthStar Group, and Larry Mestel, the founder and CEO of Primary Wave Music, 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,” the duo continued. “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 again, this time live.”
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