It was inevitable. Prince is coming to Broadway.
The late purple rock star will be the subject of an estate approved musical based on his hit movie, “Purple Rain.” The show will launch in Minneapolis next spring, and then likely come to Broadway in fall 2025.
Two former Prince band members — Bobby Z. and Morris Hayes — will serve as musical advisers. Broadway vet Jason Michael Webb will handle music supervision and orchestrations.
The book is from the author of the current hit “Appropriate,” Tony Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, based on Prince’s original story. (The movie’s screenplay is by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn.) Music and lyrics are by Prince; and direction by Tony Award-nominee Lileana Blain-Cruz.Â
This year is the 40th anniversary of “Purple Rain” so there will be a big celebration this weekend at Paisley Park. All of these creatives who are working on the musical will appear there for panels and cocktail parties and performances. Check it out on the paisleypark webpage.
The original movie only had 9 songs, so I’m assuming the musical — two hours long at least — will have some other Prince hits like “Little Red Corvette” and “1999.” We’ll see how that develops. But you know the final song, with the obligatory jukebox singalong, will the the title track. (Curtain call song– “Let’s Go Crazy”?)
And who will play Prince? Undoubtedly a newcomer as in the Michael Jackson musical, “MJ.” The music will be the draw!
