A new Broadway stage adaptation of Prince‘s critically acclaimed Purple Rain film is currently in development. The upcoming play will be based on the movie’s original screenplay, which was written by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn, Variety is reporting.
The stage version of the Oscar-winning film will feature the iconic music of Prince and a book by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The playwright is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Jacobs-Jenkins made his Broadway debut this season with the critically-heralded stage play Appropriate. The family drama featured Sarah Paulson, Elle Fanning and Corey Stoll. The playwright also developed the 2022 sci-fi FX television series adaptation of writer Octavia Butler’s 1979 novel, Kindred.
Lileana Blain-Cruz is set to direct the Purple Rain stage adaptation. The helmer is a Tony Award nominee who recently oversaw Lincoln Center’s acclaimed revival of The Skin of Our Teeth.
Additional production details about the Purple Rain stage version, including when it will premiere, have not yet been released. More information about the play will be announced in the coming months, the show’s producers said.
“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, chairman of The NorthStar Group, and Larry Mestel, 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. 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.”
The Purple Rain movie focuses around Prince’s character, The Kid, an aspiring rocker in the Minneapolis club scene. He contends with a complicated home life, musical rivals and a new romance.
The Kid’s relationship includes his abusive, alcoholic father, who was played by Clarence Williams III. The protagonist also had to contend with a treacherous musical rival portrayed by Prince’s real-life labelmate, Morris Day. The latter played a fictionalized version of himself.
Released in July 1984 by Warner Bros, the Grammy-winning drama was directed by Magnoli. The project marked Prince’s film debut. He later appeared in such other movies as Graffiti Bridge and Under the Cherry Moon, but those features didn’t match the success of Purple Rain. The latter grossed nearly $100 million worldwide.
The Purple Rain film solidified Prince’s status as one of the biggest pop singer-songwriters of the 20th century. As a musician, he sold over 150 million records worldwide and received seven Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards and four MTV Video Awards.
Prince and The Revolution’s soundtrack, Purple Rain, was released in June 1984. The album received two Grammys, three American Music Awards, two Brit Awards and an Academy Award for best original song score. The record remained at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks.
The movie’s title song is a power ballad that’s considered to be one of Prince’s most famous tracks. The soundtrack also features several of the musician’s other hit tunes, including When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy and I Would Die 4 U.
Jacobs-Jenkins’s theater credits include The Comeuppance, Gloria and An Octoroon. Blain-Cruz’s projects include Michael R. Jackson’s White Girl in Danger and Dreaming Zenzile.