Review: Purple Rain
You could feel the excitement of the crowd gathered outside the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis with a gorgeous full moon peeking out from behind the IDS Tower. Just a block away from the historic First Ave, the world premiere of the musical adaptation of Prince Rogers Nelson’s acclaimed feature film, Purple Rain, was about to get underway. People were decked out in their best (only?) crushed velvet jackets and lacy doublets to honor the late hometown music legend. This was going to be a night to remember!
As the curtain went up, the energy in the auditorium was electric as the band launched into “Let’s Go Crazy.” If the audience thought they were in for a wild romp, the rest of the 2 hour and 45 minute run time, was an unrelenting parade of confusion, disappointment and an overall dark story. The musical adaptation is loosely based the plot of the classic film, but makes several baffling changes that fundamentally changes the story arc and the overall tone of the show. The Kid, played by Kris Kollins, is a musical genius troubled by the demons of his abusive past. One by one, he drives away his fellow bandmates with his selfish behavior. But no matter how offensive his words or destructive his actions, people keep coming back to rescue him from his torment. When he strikes the woman he claims to love–the equally talented Apollonia, played by Rachel Webb–to tormenting flashbacks of his father beating his mother in The Kid’s childhood home, you think he would have hit rock bottom. But instead of turning to his friends and bandmates, The Kid gets relationship advice from none other than his father.
For someone who directly states that he is afraid of repeating the mistakes of his father, The Kid makes all the wrong choices. It was difficult to follow the plot at times, whether that is due to the stilted delivery of lines by a cast that sometimes seemed to have received new dialogue the day before, or because of challenges with the sound mixing, or because of the startling departures from the film’s plot, or some combination of the three, it’s hard to say. Contrived jukebox musicals are a nickel a dozen these days, but Purple Rain was a gift handed to the producers on a silver purple platter. All they had to do was choreography. Instead, the audience is subjected to the self-aggrandizing gaslighting of a domestic abuser interspersed with multiple segments of people leaving messages on The Kid’s answering machine (voicemail?). It’s unclear what era the action is set in due to random insertions of modern slang intermixed with 80’s era technology.
One could give the show credit for not following the cliche of the troubled protagonist who sees the error of his ways through self-reflection and works toward a climax of actualization built on rekindled friendships and lessons learned. Instead, after driving away everyone who cared about him personally or commercially with his takedown song “Darling Nikki,” The Kid is saved from attempted suicide* by the deus ex machina appearance of his best friend and a former bandmate that he had spent the previous two-and-a-half hours disrespecting. Rather than winning back the respect of his bandmates by recognizing their contributions and without once uttering anything nearing an apology, The Kid is allowed back on stage at the First Avenue to perform “Purple Rain,” and all appears forgiven. This conclusion feels jarringly abrupt and lazy.
Maybe we’re just supposed to ignore the plot and the dialogue and just bask in the musical performances. The performers are all very talented, especially Kollins and Webb, not to mention Jared Howelton as The Kid’s musical rival, Morris Day. Kollins can dance and sing like none other, but his line delivery is wooden and joyless. If not for the high-spirited antics of Day and his sidekick and a few Prince songs thrown in that didn’t further the plot, this would have been a joyless slog.
Catch Purple Rain at the State Theatre in Minneapolis now through November 23, 2025. After that, you’ll have to catch it on Broadway. Bring earplugs if you are sensitive to concert-level music volume.
*There is no trigger warning about the attempted suicide, either in the theater lobby or on the website. If you are having thoughts about suicide, help is available 24-7 by calling 988.
