The Purple Carpet Is Rolled Out For The Debut of Purple Rain at The State Theatre

Photo by: Matthew Murphy

Wednesday night was one of those "pinch me" kinds of nights. I was invited to cover the opening night of the Purple Rain musical at the gorgeous State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. Walking into the gorgeous theatre was a bit like a fever dream. People were dressed to the nines, and the event came complete with a purple carpet for people to walk down. There were all kinds of people, from fellow members of the press to full-fledged icons and celebrities. It was wild, and even as my friend and I took our seats and waited for the show to start, there was no ignoring the electricity that could be felt in the air. I've been to my fair share of Broadway musicals, but this was different. This was the debut. The first "true" performance of Purple Rain and I, like everyone else in the audience, was ridiculously excited to see what this was all about.

Before I proceed, let me try to explain this. This musical is an adaptation of Purple Rain, a 1984 movie in which Prince starred. It's not about Prince. I'll be the first to admit —I've only seen Purple Rain once, and it's been years. It was almost like an initiation when I first moved to Minneapolis for college, but truthfully, I don't remember much from the movie. I remember liking the music (obviously), but I don't remember being overly impressed with the storyline. I think this affected the way I saw this musical. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that this wasn't exactly Prince; it was "the Kid," and the majority of this show didn't take place at First Avenue (my home away from home) but at "The First". I think, had the movie been a bit fresher in my mind, I may have had an easier time wrapping my head around everything, but in a Prince-obsessed town like here in Minneapolis, I just found it super hard to separate the two.

The show started with a bang. Instantly immersing the audience in the iconic sound of Prince with "Let's Go Crazy." It instantly set the stage for what we all knew would be a night filled with Prince's iconic music, which means so much to so many people here in Minneapolis. The musical wasn't all party and dance moves; I really appreciated the way the movie told the story of the Kid and his attempt to climb up the ladder of the local Minneapolis music scene. It dabbled in everything from serious issues, such as domestic violence and suicide, to more light-hearted matters, like the often playful rivalry between the Kid and the competing local bandleader, Morris. I felt that the performance did a great job of getting you right on the edge of a breakdown, with a sense of tension during some of the more serious moments, but just when you were about to nose-dive into darkness, something would happen and bring the mood back up.

There was no ignoring the stunning vocal performances of the entire cast of this musical. A few highlights were, naturally, Kris Kollins, who played the Kid, and Rachel Webb, who played the Kid's love interest, Apollonia. The way the voices of these two humans meshed together was nothing short of goosebump-inducing, and it was truly impressive to hear Kris nail the insane range that Prince was known for. I feel that the fact that these two performers were incredibly talented vocalists is no surprise. Come on, it's a musical, meaning the music is at the forefront, but they weren't the only voices that shone throughout this song. I found the voice of Jared Holweton (who was performing as Morris) just as impressive.

Although a musical, this isn't an opera, so there were plenty of moments throughout the two-and-a-half-hour presentation where it was just dialogue, and I must admit, I was lost for most of it. Maybe it was some first-time jitters, or perhaps it stems from my not fully grasping the storyline of Purple Rain as well as I should, but I just felt that most of the dialogue felt off. Just a bit lifeless compared to the impressive musical performances scattered throughout. I also thought it was odd that there were specific lines that felt much more modern than those in the 1984 movie. I understand that this is a reinterpretation of sorts, but certain phrases and quips felt a bit too modern, to the point where they seemed out of place. I think this was an attempt at humor, but, upon looking around the older crowd that surrounded me, it quickly became clear that some of these things went right above most people's heads and just didn't hit the way they were intended to.

One of my favorite parts of this show was the stage design, but that's for selfish reasons. A lot of this performance takes place at "The First" (aka First Avenue). If you know me, you know I spent more time at this club, made legendary by Prince, than at my own house, so seeing it portrayed on stage was truly breathtaking. It wasn't an exact replica, but I loved the fact that I could see my normal spot under the stairs on stage left. It's the spot where I stand for the majority of my shows, and something about seeing that little, seemingly meaningless spot on the State Theatre stage meant the world to me. Beyond the scenes set at The First, the stage design felt a bit bare, but that gave room for movement, which I really appreciated. There was definitely attention to detail when it came to the backdrops of everywhere, from the Kids' bedroom to the green room of The First, but at the same time, it felt open and loose rather than constricting and distracting.

This musical (and Wednesday night in particular) is a trial run of sorts. Purple Rain is currently a "pre-Broadway" production of sorts, meaning that the goal is to get this musical on Broadway proper. Will it work there? I honestly couldn't tell you. The audience on Wednesday night was clearly excited and, for the most part, into the performance, but was that because we were in Minneapolis? Let's be honest, if you live in the Twin Cities, you've been purified by the waters of Lake Minnetonka in one way or another. Regardless of your age or background, you have an undeniable sense of respect for Prince and, truthfully, we all have our Prince story as he was not above showing up at random shows and places throughout the cities before his untimely death. So I asked again, could this musical work anywhere other than the Twin Cities? I honestly think so. It's well laid out and a cool idea to take a musical film like Purple Rain and make it into a musical proper, but I do think it still needs some work. There are some disjointed thoughts and ideas throughout this performance that need to be refined a bit, but that's something that will surely happen over time.

Overall, Bravo to the entire cast and crew of this performance. Although I could sit here and nitpick things that I didn't particularly like or couldn't follow, there's no denying that I was having a great time every time the cast would jump into a song. This is a musical, and as a live music junkie, that's what I will base a musical on every time. From that perspective, it's easy to say that Purple Rain was a huge success. My life has become a wild ride, to say the least, and I feel as if I keep finding myself in truly amazing experiences, with this debut performance of 'Purple Rain' being one of them.