This summer will mark 40 years since Prince released his seminal 1984 film Purple Rain and its Academy Award-winning score. Since then, fans have remained just as captivated by the movie and even more so by the creative genius behind it, the late Prince Rodgers Nelson. Now fans will have a new way to celebrate and honor the groundbreaking film – on the theater stage.
Theater producer Orin Wolf has announced plans to adapt the film into a musical stage play. Wolf, the force behind the current Off-Broadway run of Buena Vista Social Club and the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of The Band’s Visit, will team up with playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and theater director Lileana Blain-Cruz, to bring the classic film to the stage.
The dramatic tale about The Kid, an aspiring musician navigating the competitive Minneapolis music scene, a complicated family life and love, seems ripe for a big stage retelling. With his larger-than-life persona and the cultural significance of Purple Rain — it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2019 — we can’t help but wonder why this hasn’t happened sooner.
Though it remains to be seen when the production will make it to the stage or who will star in it, we’re excited for the Purple One to join the likes of Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Michael Jackson, whose music and stories have also gotten the Broadway treatment in recent years. Visit the Purple Rain on Broadway website to sign up for updates.
