Prince’s hit film Purple Rain is set to become a Broadway musical.
The 1984 movie will come to the stage with a book from the Pulitzer prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who is currently receiving rave reviews for the family drama Appropriate starring Sarah Paulson and Elle Fanning.
Music and lyrics will come from Prince and the musical will be directed by the Tony award nominee Lileana Blain-Cruz, known for 2022’s adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s dark comedy The Skin of Our Teeth.
“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 L Londell McMillan, the chairman of The Northstar Group, and Larry Mestel, founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music. “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.”
Purple Rain won the Oscar for best original score and made almost $100m at the worldwide box office. The album was number one in the US for 24 weeks and sold over 25m copies. Songs included When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy and I Would Die 4 U.
The film tells the story of a musician dealing with difficulties at home, musical rivalry and a burgeoning romance. It was Prince’s big screen debut.
Back in 2018, Universal had acquired the rights to a selection of Prince songs with a big-screen musical in development. It remains unclear as to whether this project is still in the offing.
Prince died in 2016 after a career that saw him selling over 100m records worldwide.
This year also sees musicals soundtracked by Alicia Keys, Huey Lewis and the News and The Who coming to Broadway.
