PURPLE RAIN Musical Unveils Additional Creative Team and Minneapolis Dates

Additional creative team members and performance dates have been revealed for the pre-Broadway world premiere stage adaptation of Prince’s legendary film and album, PURPLE RAIN. The production will run April 10 – May 11, 2025 at Hennepin Arts’ historic State Theatre in Minneapolis as part of its 2024-2025 Broadway on Hennepin season.  The official opening night is Wednesday, April 30.
 
Tony Award Winner Jason Michael Webb will be the production’s Music Supervisor and will also provide musical arrangements and orchestrations for the production.
 
L Londell McMillan, Chairman of The NorthStar Group, and Larry Mestel, Founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music, also announced today that Bobby Z and Morris Hayes, both of whom worked with Prince for years as bandmates and musical collaborators, have joined the production as Music Advisers.  Bobby Z was the drummer in Prince’s band, “The Revolution,” for nearly a decade and appeared in the film PURPLE RAIN. Morris Hayes was the keyboardist of Prince’s band, “The New Power Generation,” for nearly two decades and was also Prince’s Musical Director for several years. 
 
“As well-known collaborators and bandmates with Prince from different eras, we are thrilled to invite Bobby Z and Morris Hayes to join the PURPLE RAIN production as Music Advisers,” said L Londell McMillan. “Prince very much enjoyed live musicals and talked about adapting PURPLE RAIN for the stage. I can’t imagine two better artists to work with us and the Broadway creative team to help ensure that PURPLE RAIN is brilliantly realized on stage in a way that honors Prince and his music legacy.”
 
“Bringing in Morris Hayes and Bobby Z, two of Prince’s longtime collaborators, was extremely important as we move forward with the pre-Broadway premiere of PURPLE RAIN,” said Larry Mestel. “Having worked with Prince for years, they will ensure this production holds true to Prince’s vision and continues his legacy. Matching their history and musical contributions with Prince, alongside the creative team already in place, will surely bring magic to the stage.”
 
As previously announced, this stage adaptation, based on the film, PURPLE RAIN, will feature a story by Prince; a book by Tony Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, based on the original screenplay by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn; music and lyrics by Prince; and direction by Tony Award-nominee Lileana Blain-Cruz. 
 

CELEBRATION PANEL

Director Lileana Blain-Cruz, book writer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, and music supervisor Jason Michael Webb, will be joined by Bobby Z and Morris Hayes for a “First Look” panel discussion at CELEBRATION 2024 this Saturday, June 22 in Minneapolis. For details, please visit: https://www.paisleypark.com/celebration-2024
 

OPEN CASTING CALLS

 
The production will also be holding open casting call auditions in Minneapolis for all roles. Dates and information will be announced in the coming weeks and will also be available at https://purplerainbroadway.com/
 

ABOUT PRINCE AND PURPLE RAIN

 
PRINCE ROGERS NELSON (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of all time.  A singer, songwriter, musician, and music producer, he received countless awards, nominations and accolades for his music, performances, and skill as a multi-instrumentalist, frequently playing all or most of the instruments on his recordings. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, rhythm and blues, rock, new wave, soul, blues, jazz, and hip-hop.  Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound. 
 
Prince has sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time.  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2016. He received seven Grammy Awards, seven Brit Awards, six American Music Awards, four MTV Video Awards, and Academy Award for Best Original Score for Purple Rain, and a Golden Globe Award. Two of his albums, Purple Rain (1984) and Sign o’ the Times (1987), received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year.  His albums 1999, Purple Rain, and Sign o’ the Times have all been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. At the 2013 Billboard Music Awards he was honored with the Billboard Icon Award.   
 
PURPLE RAIN tells the fictional story of The Kid, an up-and-coming rock musician in the Minneapolis club scene, as he contends with a tumultuous home environment, a rival band, and a budding romance. Released in July 1984 by Warner Bros, the film was originated by Prince, directed by Albert Magnoli and written by Magnoli and William Blinn. It was Prince’s film debut.
 
PURPLE RAIN is a cultural phenomenon, widely regarded as one of the greatest musical films ever made, grossing close to $100 million worldwide and winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score.  In 2019, the Library of Congress added the film to the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
 
Prince and The Revolution’s iconic 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 album remained at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks. The album is certified 13x Platinum by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
 

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