Charles Koppelman, former head of EMI, who with attorney-manager L. Londell McMillan will handle Prince's entertainment assets, said that a Broadway musical comprising Prince hits or a Cirque du Soleil production are two possibilities.
“There is so much to be done with this estate. There are vaults full of music,” Koppelman told the New York daily.
“Prince was an icon on the level of The Beatles and Michael Jackson, and his legacy should be honored,” he added. “Though his name was Prince, I always thought he was the king of music.”
Though he was admired by many Broadway singers, Prince had only a single Broadway credit to his name, the music and lyrics for a song in the short-lived 1986 musical revue Uptown...It's Hot!
The show, which starred Maurice Hines, lasted just 24 performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. It featured music by Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Count Basie, Carole King, Stevie Wonder and George Gershwin, among others.
The show's finale was the song “1999” with music and lyrics by Prince, whose birth name was Prince Rogers Nelson.
Prince also worked briefly with playwright Henry David Hwang on a proposed musical about Prince's relationship with an obsessed fan. You can read Hwang's account of the collaboration here. The show was never completed.
