The 2027 Tony Awards just got a little more… purple. Broadway star Jordan Fisher has been announced as the star of Purple Rain, the stage version of the 1984 cinematic rock musical that catapulted Prince to the top of the box-office and Billboard charts. A former Dancing with the Stars winner in addition to his many stage and screen credits, Fisher will play Prince’s alter ego, The Kid, a Minneapolis rocker looking to make a name for himself and a way out of his troubled home life.
“You’d have to be crazy to to this,” Fisher says of taking on Prince’s mantle in a just-released video announcing his casting. “The voice, the moves, the music — he made it all look effortless. And now I get the chance to bring it all to Broadway.”
“People are going to think I’m crazy for even trying,” Fisher adds, as he demonstrates his fancy finger work on the guitar. “I know what Purple Rain means to people, and I’m ready to show everyone where crazy can take you. Let’s go.”
Naturally, the Purple Rain creative team likes Fisher’s brand of crazy. “We know that Jordan Fisher is an extraordinary talent, but what’s been thrilling about watching him inhabit ‘The Kid’ is discovering the fire beneath the surface: the swagger, vulnerability and restless creative spirit we recognize in Prince,” the show’s director, Saheem Ali, remarked in a statement obtained by Gold Derby. “Jordan brings all of that to the role, along with an infectious generosity that makes everyone around him better. He’s finding something raw, surprising, and deeply human in this iconic character, and I can’t wait for Broadway audiences to experience it.”
Fisher still has a few months to remake himself as Broadway’s new Prince; Purple Rain will have its first previews at the Majestic Theatre on March 12, with opening night scheduled for April 12, during that busy pre-Tony nominations corridor. Watch the video above and read on for everything else to know about Purple Rain on Broadway.
The plot
Here’s the official synopsis for Purple Rain: “Minneapolis, 1984. A new era of music television is creating overnight stars. A magnetic young performer known as ‘The Kid’ 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.”
That’s the storyline — but what about the song list? Purple Rain will feature over 20 stone-cold Prince classics including “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Take Me with You,” “The Beautiful Ones,” and, of course, the soaring title track.
The cast and creative team
Fisher’s co-stars — including the actress who will embody Apollonia, The Kid’s love interest and real-life ’80s music icon in her own right — have not been announced at press time. Look for the full cast list to be revealed in the coming weeks.
In addition to the Tony-nominated Ali as director, the Purple Rain creative team includes Peter Duchan as the book writer; Jason Michael Webb — who also oversaw MJ the Musical — as the head of the music team with Prince collaborators Bobby Z and Morris Hayes as music advisers; and Ebony Williams as the choreographer.
Purple Rain also features scenic design by David Zinn; video and projection design by Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom; costume design by Montana Levi Blanco; lighting design by Justin Townsend; sound design by Gareth Owen; hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan; and makeup design by Kyle Krueger. Casting is by The TRC Company and the Production Stage Manager is Amanda Spooner.
The awards prospects
Purple Rain will go head-to-head with Dolly: A True Original Musical as this season’s Tony-contending jukebox musical. Both late artists are much-beloved by the industry and fans alike, with song catalogues that boast banger after banger — all of which will sounds as good in a Broadway theater as they do in arenas. But they’ll have to contend with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s much-anticipated return to Broadway with Warriors, as well as the popular London import, Paddington: The Musical, which many Tony prognosticators are already bear-ish on.
On the acting front, both shows are also headlined by experienced stage performers who are finally getting the chance to originate a role on Broadway — Fisher has previously appeared in Hamilton, Moulin Rouge!, Sweeney Todd, and Dear Evan Hansen, while Dolly‘s Katie Rose Clarke replaced Kelli O’Hara in The Light in the Piazza. If critics and audiences are impressed by their versions of Prince and Parton, look for both Fisher and Clarke to be front-runners for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical, respectively.
And even if Tony statuettes don’t manifest themselves, both actors will have shots at earning Grammys for playing these Grammy-winning performers should original cast albums be produced.
The release date
Purple Rain begins previews on March 12, with opening night scheduled for April 12 at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre.
