Want to play Apollonia or Prince stand-in The Kid in the stage adaptation of "Purple Rain"? How about Morris Day or a member of The Time?
Amid the downpour of Saturday's Prince block party, would-be stage stars had a chance to sign up to be seen by the creative team and producers of the new musical that has its pre-Broadway premiere next spring in Minneapolis.
"It's a real casting call," casting agent Taylor Williams said Saturday as music blared in downtown Minneapolis. The creative team is casting a wide net, Williams said, because there are many roles in the show and "talent is everywhere."
Williams was part of a big New York entourage that Orin Wolf, the producer putting "Purple Rain" on Broadway, brought to the State Theatre on Saturday. Wolf has sterling Broadway and tour credits, including the Tony-winning shows "Illinoise" and "The Band's Visit." He said that it's important to introduce members of the creative team to the Prince fandom and give the first sneak peek of the musical to a city that Prince loved.
"The State Theatre is gritty and just like a Broadway house," he said, a rawness that, he added, would help bring out Prince's mystique.
Fans were treated to rousing, theatrical performances of Prince's "Take Me With U" and Prince-penned "The Glamorous Life." It was much more than some expected.
"I like that it's not going to be an imitation of the movie — but an elaboration," said Adam Wormley, who flew in from New Jersey for the festivities.
Actors interested in performing in the musical haven't missed their only chance to sign up. Members of the "Purple Rain" team plan to be back in Minneapolis in July for another casting call.
Tony winner Jason Michael Webb, who was music supervisor for "MJ," is playing the same role in "Purple Rain." On Saturday, he led the band and dueted with one of the singers who has been in the show's developmental workshops.
Strip away all of Webb's achievements and skills, and what remains is an ardent Prince fan, Webb told the crowd.
Webb spoke on a panel with Tony-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, director Lileana Blain-Cruz and music adviser Bobby Z., drummer for Prince and the Revolution. They, and the producer, sought to reassure the audience that "Purple Rain" will honor the icon's legacy while bringing out new colors in his music.
"One of the first things I felt when I watched that movie was that he was making a musical," Jacobs-Jenkins said. "He was creating characters, creating conflict in music as he worked out the songs. All I feel like I'm trying to do is finish that picture."
Wolf said that Jacobs-Jenkins was his first hire after securing the rights to "Purple Rain" in 2020 after a two-year process. This is the playwright's first musical.
"Traditionally, a book writer enjoys the company and collaboration of living collaborators, someone you can turn to and say, 'This story doesn't work, can you write a song?'" Jacobs-Jenkins said.
Another challenge is the iconic nature of this music. Fans, naturally, will want to sing along. But Jacobs-Jenkins said he welcomes the challenge, describing it as a "fun puzzle."
He aims to make the story "so undeniable that people actually want to hear the singers sing the songs," Jacobs-Jenkins said. "What's going to make someone really stop and hear 'When Doves Cry' differently, hear 'Purple Rain'?
"How can you do a story that takes [those songs] to another level."
WCCO newscaster Reg Chapman, who moderated the panel, asked the team what they intended to change about the script.
"I'm not trying to start fights in this room [over] a beloved property," Jacobs-Jenkins laughed. "It's not so much about making changes as really acknowledging the fact that a film is a film, and a musical is a musical. They're just different forms and they offer you different pleasures, ultimately."
Webb also sought to reassure fans that Prince's essence will be in the show.
"Have you ever heard a song that you really like and you stripped all the music away until it's just the voice?" Webb asked the State Theatre audience. "That's kind of what our job is here is — distilling songs down to their essence and then figuring out how they need to work in [dramatic] moments and then rebuilding them so that the theatrical presentation is still faithful to what the original intention was but it still can bring you on a new journey."
Wolf said that there will be more surprises for both ardent and new fans of Prince.
"When I first sought the rights, I told them that this will not be a version of 'Cats,'" Wolf said. "We're going to introduce 'Purple Rain' to a whole new generation."
