Purple Rain musical sets Broadway dates for 2027
Prince’s Purple Rain musical will begin Broadway previews at the Majestic Theatre in March 2027, with opening night set for April 12.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The Purple Rain musical is officially Broadway-bound, with producer Orin Wolf announcing that the Prince stage adaptation will begin previews at New York’s Majestic Theatre on March 12, 2027.
Opening night is scheduled for April 12, according to Wolf’s announcement. The show adapts Prince’s 1984 film and the Grammy-winning album of the same name, bringing one of pop’s most famous purple-soaked stories to a Broadway house.
When does the Purple Rain musical open on Broadway?
The production is set to start previews on March 12, 2027, at the Majestic Theatre. Its official Broadway opening is planned for April 12, 2027.
The stage version includes more than 20 Prince songs, among them “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Take Me with You” and “The Beautiful Ones.” Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist who sold more than 150 million records. He died in 2016 at 57 from an accidental fentanyl overdose.
Purple Rain first reached the stage in Minneapolis, Prince’s hometown, at Hennepin Theatre Trust’s State Theatre during its 2024-25 season. That production had a book by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, based on the original screenplay by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn, with music and lyrics by Prince. Lileana Blain-Cruz directed the Minneapolis staging.
The Broadway version has a new book by Peter Duchan, whose credits include Dogfight. Tony nominee Saheem Ali, whose work includes Buena Vista Social Club, is directing.
Several artists from the earlier production are returning behind the scenes. Jason Michael Webb, known for MJ the Musical, is back as music supervisor, and Ebony Williams, whose credits include Sneakerella, returns as choreographer. Bobby Z and Morris Hayes, both Prince collaborators and bandmates, are again serving as music advisers.
No Broadway cast has been announced. The Twin Cities staging featured Kris Kollins as The Kid, Rachel Webb as Apollonia, Jared Howelton as Morris and Leon Addison Brown as The Kid’s father.
The plot is set in Minneapolis in 1984, as music television is turning performers into fast-rising stars. The central character, The Kid, is a charismatic young musician trying to lead his band to success while his past threatens the life and career he is trying to build.
The story closely follows the Warner Bros. film, which starred Prince and was directed by Albert Magnoli. The movie grossed more than $70 million worldwide, won the Oscar for Original Score and was added to the National Film Registry in 2019.
In the announcement, Wolf praised Prince as “one of the rarest, most brilliant musicians we’ve ever had” and said Purple Rain as a song, album and film showed music-making “at the highest level.” Wolf also said Ali, Duchan, Williams and Webb would use Prince’s music as the engine for the new production.
The Broadway creative team also includes scenic designer David Zinn, video and projection designers Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, costume designer Montana Levi Blanco, lighting designer Justin Townsend, sound designer Gareth Owen, hair and wig designer Cookie Jordan and makeup designer Kyle Krueger.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.