Minnesota Finally Sees the Purple Rain Musical — But Does It Deliver?

The highly anticipated debut of the Purple Rain musical happened Thursday night at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. After a weekend of performances, fans are talking, and here’s what they think of the new show.

Fans React to the Purple Rain Musical’s Minneapolis Debut

This is a pre-Broadway debut, basically, a tryout for highly sought-after theater space in the musical capital of the world. Technically, the show doesn’t officially open until November 5. These early shows are considered preview performances, which is why no official reviews have been released yet, but that hasn’t stopped fans from sharing their thoughts.

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Inside the Minneapolis Premiere

I saw the show myself on Friday night, the second performance in front of a crowd. The energy from the sold-out theater was great, lots of people dressed in purple, chatting excitedly with other fans about seeing the show. No doubt everyone there expected an unforgettable experience.

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A Rough Start for a Big Show

What we got was, honestly, a bit of a mess. The show ran for three hours. The story loosely follows the source material, but strays with long, drawn-out sequences that felt unnecessary. There were also several technical problems, especially with audio, much of the dialogue was hard to understand. And there’s a surprising amount of swearing, most of it unnecessary.

Purple Rain the musical didn’t always feel like it was set in the 1980s. The fashion choices were off, and at one point, a character used the word “slapped”, a very modern phrase. I’m pretty sure I even saw a cell phone on stage.

The Music Shines in Minnesota Debut

The bright spot was the music. Every song from the original soundtrack made it into the show, plus a few extras, including music from The Time. The actor playing Morris Day was phenomenal, he completely stole the show.

Kris Kollins stars as “The Kid” (Prince) in his first major stage role. It showed at times, especially during dialogue-heavy moments, but when he sang, he came alive. His voice captured Prince’s tone, and his movements and stage presence were on point.

Room to Grow Before Broadway

The rest of the cast gave strong performances, including Broadway vet Rachel Webb as Apollonia, and with more shows under their belt, things should tighten up. Hopefully, the team can clean up the story and fix the technical issues before the November 5 opening. There’s potential here, but it’s not ready for Broadway yet.

Fans on Reddit and social media seem to agree. The most common complaints are the lengthy runtime and story pacing, though many praised the cast and music. Purple Rain runs at the State Theatre in Minneapolis until November 23. No word yet on what’s next, but Minnesota fans are watching closely.