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Musical based on Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ coming to Broadway

Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ (NPG Records/Warner Records)

A stage adaptation of Prince’s Purple Rain is coming to Broadway next spring.

Producer Orin Wolf has announced that the musical, which was first announced back in January 2024, will begin previews at New York’s Majestic Theatre on March 12, 2027, with an official opening date of April 12, 2027.

The production will feature over 20 Prince hits, including such songs as “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Take Me with You” and “The Beautiful Ones.”

The musical will be set in Minneapolis in 1984, and like the original film, it centers around a magnetic performer known as The Kid. According to the description, he “seems like the perfect frontman to lead his bandmates to stardom. But when his past threatens everything he’s built, he’ll have to sing his way out of the darkness and into the spotlight where he belongs.”

The musical will be directed by Saheem Ali, Tony-nominated for Buena Vista Social Club, with a book by Peter Duchan, music by MJ The Musical Tony winner Jason Michael Webb and choreography by Ebony Williams.

So far no cast for the Broadway production has been announced. Tickets will go on sale in September.

Released in July 1984, Purple Rain grossed close to $70 million in the United States. The soundtrack was Prince’s first #1 and spent 24 weeks on the top of the chart.

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James Comey files motion seeking dismissal of seashell indictment

Author James Comey, former FBI Director, speaks at the Barnes & Noble Upper West Side on May 19, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Former FBI Director James Comey's attorneys have filed a motion seeking the dismissal of the indictment charging Comey for posting a picture on his Instagram account of seashells spelling out "8647," which federal prosecutors say constituted a threat against President Donald Trump's life."This indictment targets protected speech at the heart of the First Amendment," Comey's attorneys said in their filing, regarding the charges announced in April over the since-deleted Instagram post from May 2025."Mr. Comey, an outspoken critic of President Trump, posted a photograph of seashells spelling out '86 47,' a well-known political slogan that expresses opposition to the President," the filing said. "In fact, thousands of items featuring this slogan have been sold on the internet and are available to this day, and the slogan was commonly displayed at protests around the country in the months preceding Mr. Comey's post."The filing, one of a series of anticipated efforts by Comey's legal team to have his case thrown out before trial, accuses the Justice Department of singling out Comey "to prosecute one of the President's most prominent critics for publishing another person's statement of political opposition.""That attempt to suppress core political speech contravenes both the statutes at issue and the First Amendment," Comey's attorneys wrote.Comey has vigorously denied his post was ever intended as a threat against Trump and is expected to plead not guilty in an arraignment scheduled for next month in North Carolina."Forcing Mr. Comey to stand trial for a statement opposing the President -- even if he is ultimately acquitted -- would itself be an unconstitutional punishment of free speech," the filing said. "And it would invite future prosecutions by the Executive Branch against perceived political enemies for their opposition to the President. Government officials have already warned that they plan to target citizens if they 'copycat' Mr. Comey's 'political statement.'"In their motion Monday, Comey's attorneys revealed that after the former FBI director deleted his post, he contacted the local police chief "to notify him about the controversy over the post" and, as ABC News previously reported, agreed to be interviewed by Secret Service agents.In making their argument that the post falls well short of the high legal bar to constitute a "true threat" as the Supreme Court has defined it, Comey's lawyers claimed that prosecutors have provided no evidence to support the necessary standard showing Comey himself intended to engage in a violent act.They also pointed to recent statements made by President Trump that they argue go much farther in potentially inciting violence against his political enemies, including Trump's claim earlier this year that the lawmakers who posted the video urging service members to disobey unlawful orders amounted to "treason" that was "punishable by death."Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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