Tag Archives: Purple Rain

Prince’s Iconic ‘Purple Rain’ Set to Hit Broadway as a Musical

purple rain prince

The legendary film Purple Rain, featuring the music of Prince, is set to take the stage as a musical, with Pulitzer finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins crafting the book.

Adapted from the screenplay of the 1984 film, the project will showcase Prince’s iconic music and lyrics, guided by director Lileana Blain-Cruz and producer Orin Wolf.

Purple Rain, the film that starred the renowned singer-songwriter, narrates the original tale of an emerging Minneapolis rock musician. While the movie gained immediate success, Prince’s soundtrack remains enduring, earning him Grammy and Academy Awards. The album, certified 13-times Platinum, includes classics like “When Doves Cry,” “The Beautiful Ones,” and the titular track. Prince’s influence transcends the film’s release, and his untimely death in 2016 marked a significant loss to the music world.

“It’s been almost 40 years since Prince’s legendary film, Purple Rain, took the world by storm and we can’t think of a more fitting tribute than to honor Prince and the Purple Rain legacy with this stage adaptation of the beloved story,” says NorthStar Group Chairman L Londell McMillan and Primary Wave Music Founder and CEO Larry Mestel in a joint statement. “We are thrilled with our Broadway partners and creative team, who are bringing a theatricality to the film’s original fictional story. We can’t wait for a new generation to discover Purple Rain and for lovers of the original film and album to experience its power once again, this time live.”

According to Playbill, details regarding the musical’s development timeline and casting remain undisclosed. However, the project’s website, PurpleRainBroadway.com, suggests a Broadway debut, emphasizing the anticipation surrounding this exciting adaptation. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, known for his contributions to Broadway, is set to deliver a fresh perspective, following his recent success with “The Skin of Our Teeth” and his ongoing Broadway debut with “Appropriate.”

The post Prince’s Iconic ‘Purple Rain’ Set to Hit Broadway as a Musical first appeared on The Source.

The post Prince’s Iconic ‘Purple Rain’ Set to Hit Broadway as a Musical appeared first on The Source.

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Prince’s Iconic ‘Purple Rain’ Set to Hit Broadway as a Musical

purple rain prince

The legendary film Purple Rain, featuring the music of Prince, is set to take the stage as a musical, with Pulitzer finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins crafting the book.

Adapted from the screenplay of the 1984 film, the project will showcase Prince’s iconic music and lyrics, guided by director Lileana Blain-Cruz and producer Orin Wolf.

Purple Rain, the film that starred the renowned singer-songwriter, narrates the original tale of an emerging Minneapolis rock musician. While the movie gained immediate success, Prince’s soundtrack remains enduring, earning him Grammy and Academy Awards. The album, certified 13-times Platinum, includes classics like “When Doves Cry,” “The Beautiful Ones,” and the titular track. Prince’s influence transcends the film’s release, and his untimely death in 2016 marked a significant loss to the music world.

“It’s been almost 40 years since Prince’s legendary film, Purple Rain, took the world by storm and we can’t think of a more fitting tribute than to honor Prince and the Purple Rain legacy with this stage adaptation of the beloved story,” says NorthStar Group Chairman L Londell McMillan and Primary Wave Music Founder and CEO Larry Mestel in a joint statement. “We are thrilled with our Broadway partners and creative team, who are bringing a theatricality to the film’s original fictional story. We can’t wait for a new generation to discover Purple Rain and for lovers of the original film and album to experience its power once again, this time live.”

According to Playbill, details regarding the musical’s development timeline and casting remain undisclosed. However, the project’s website, PurpleRainBroadway.com, suggests a Broadway debut, emphasizing the anticipation surrounding this exciting adaptation. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, known for his contributions to Broadway, is set to deliver a fresh perspective, following his recent success with “The Skin of Our Teeth” and his ongoing Broadway debut with “Appropriate.”

The post Prince’s Iconic ‘Purple Rain’ Set to Hit Broadway as a Musical first appeared on The Source.

The post Prince’s Iconic ‘Purple Rain’ Set to Hit Broadway as a Musical appeared first on The Source.

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Company’s Attempt to Trademark “Purple Rain” for Energy Drinks Denied

Prince's Estate Valued at $156.4 Million | The Source

The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) has rejected a trademark application to register the mark PURPLE RAIN, finding that such a mark would create the false suggestion of a connection with the late iconic recording artist Prince Rogers Nelson.   Where a party seeks to register a new trademark with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, that registration may be opposed by other parties for specific reasons, including where the registration would cause consumer confusion or where it would create a false suggestion of a connection with another party.

JHO Intellectual Property Holdings sought to register the mark PURPLE RAIN for dietary and supplemental energy drinks and for “Energy drinks; Isotonic drinks; Non-alcoholic drinks, namely, energy shots, ‘Sports drinks.’”  The registration of the mark was opposed by Paisley Park Enterprises, LLC and NPG Records, LLC, who, between them claimed registered and common law rights in the mark, as well as rights to Prince’s image, name, and likeness. 

Paisley Park and NPG presented evidence showing that the term “Purple Rain” was associated with and often synonymous with Prince, including that PURPLE RAIN was a 13X platinum album selling millions of copies worldwide and was the title of an Academy-award-winning movie scored by and starring Prince. 

In concluding that JHO’s mark created a false suggestion of a connection with Prince, the TTAB found that: (i) JHO’s PURPLE RAIN mark was a close approximation of Prince’s identity; (ii) that PURPLE RAIN pointed uniquely and unmistakably to Prince, based in part of a survey showing 66.3% of the general public recognized “Purple Rain” as a reference to Prince; (iii) that there was no connection between Paisley Park/NPG and JHO’s goods using the mark; and (iv) that consumers would presume a connection to Prince because Paisley Park and NPG marketed a variety of goods under the PURPLE RAIN mark (even though they did not sell energy drinks or supplements specifically).  

In a statement, L. Londell McMillan, Managing Member of Prince Legacy, LLC, the co-manager of the Prince estate and assets, said, “as stewards of Prince’s legacy, we are pleased that the Board recognized the direct association that ‘Purple Rain’ has with Prince, and the strong likelihood that any third party use of ‘Purple Rain’ will create a false suggestion of a connection with Prince.”

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‘Purple Rain’ Star Clarence Williams III Dies at Age 81

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Iconic actor Clarence Williams III died in his home on Sunday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 81-years-old at the time of his death.

In a statement from his manager Peg Donegan, Williams was born in New York City on August 21, 1939.

During his career, Williams played Linc Hayes in the classic film The Mod Squad and appeared on Broadway in The Great Outdoors. Williams also appeared as Prince’s father in Purple Rain, Half Baked, American Gangster, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler.

Williams is survived by his sister Sondra Pugh, daughter Jamey Phillips, niece Suyin Shaw, grandnephews Elliot Shaw and Ese Shaw and grandniece Azaria Verdin.

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