Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ is becoming a stage musical

nme.com:

Prince‘s ‘Purple Rain’ is set to become a stage musical featuring some of the pop icon’s famous tracks.The stage adaptation of Prince’s 1984 film will be produced by Orin Wolf – who previously led the Tony-winning adaptation of “The Band’s Visit” to the stage and is currently backing the theatrical adaptation of another music industry movie, Buena Vista Social Club – and will be based on the original screenplay which was written by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn.American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is set to write the book for the musical.

His play, Appropriate, is currently running on Broadway. It will be directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, who was nominated for a Tony Award in 2022 for a production of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin Of Our Teeth.It will also feature the tracks from the film’s iconic soundtrack which include ‘When Doves Cry’ and ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ – which both peaked at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts upon their release – as well as ‘Purple Rain’, which peaked at Number Two on the same chart.

The soundtrack is certified 13× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.

The film also won an Academy Award for best original song score.In a statement to Variety, 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.”They continued: “We are thrilled with our Broadway partners and creative team, who are bringing a theatricality to the film’s original fictional story.