The music of Prince is headed to the stage, not in concert form but in a musical.
The film “Purple Rain” is having a Broadway-style adaptation, and the leads for the show have been announced before its Pre-Broadway run in Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis.
Kris Kollins will play The Kid, the same role played by the iconic singer/songwriter in the 1984 film, Deadline reported.
The publication called Kollins “an up-and-coming musician-songwriter.” Playbill said this is his professional stage debut.
He will star opposite Rachel Webb, who will be Apollonia. Webb recently starred in “& Juliet.”
Their casting was announced in a video of the pair performing Prince’s “Take Me With U,” with Kollins playing piano.
Playbill described the show as "an original story of an up-and-coming Minneapolis rock musician."
The movie’s soundtrack, which won Prince a Grammy and an Oscar, was certified 13-times Platinum and includes such hits as “When Doves Cry” and the title song, “Purple Rain.”
Prince, whose real name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died in 2016. He had 40 Top 100 hits over his career. He released his first album in 1978, “For You.” His final concert was in Atlanta on April 14, 2016, just a week before his death on April 21 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, CNN reported.
“Purple Rain” will premiere at the State Theatre in Minneapolis in October before it hopefully gets a spot in New York City.
Tickets are available for the month-long run.
A Broadway premiere has not been announced.
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