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After a successful film featuring the debut album by Prince, Purple Rain is to become a stage musical. This does come as a bit of a surprise as the film arrived in cinemas nearly 40 years ago. The stage adaptation is gunning for a Broadway debut. More information about the musical is to be officially released later this year, including the hopeful date for the opening night.
The stage show will feature Prince’s songs and his original lyrics, but it is yet to be confirmed if all of the songs will be from the film, or if newer ones will also be added. The film was originally released in 1984 where Prince played ‘The Kid’ who was a young Minneapolis musician and the lead singer of a band called “The Revolution”. On his rise to stardom, he must deal with an abusive situation at home, a blooming romance, and of course his own band.
The musical adaptation will be directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz (@lileanablaincruzofficial on Instagram), who was recently nominated for a Tony Award in the category of Best Direction of a Play on her work The Skin of Our Teeth in 2022. The musical will also feature a book written by Pulitzer prize finalist, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. It will be produced by Orin Wolfe, a Broadway and touring producer with four Tony awards to his accreditation.
CEO and founder of Primary Wave Music, Larry Mestel, made a statement with the chairman of the NorthStar Group, L. Londell McMillan saying:
“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… 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.”
Londell McMillan is an entertainment attorney and currently handles the estate for Prince as the late icon was one of his long-time clients. Some of his other clients include Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson before his death, Kanye West, and LL Cool J. Larry Mestel has been working in the music and entertainment industry for over 30 years. Working as the CEO of Primary Wave Music, it has become one of the largest independent music publishing and management companies in the U.S. Several of the clients coincide with L. Londell McMillan’s client list, so it is no surprise that the two of them released a statement together for their mutual client, the late Prince, about this upcoming musical of the icon’s film debut.
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
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