As the first note of “Let’s Go Crazy” hits — the opening song in the stage adaptation of “Purple Rain” — the audience erupts in cheers as a shadowed figure steps into the stark stage lights.

Actor Kris Kollins utters his first line of the show: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate this thing called life.” As he delivers lines made famous by Prince, he’s also asked to shoulder the emotional weight of the show — a task Kollins doesn’t seem fully prepared for.

For the next two and a half hours, Kollins steps into the role made famous by Prince in the 1984 film. The show’s book, by Tony winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, asks a lot of the actor. His character’s storyline centers on mental health struggles tied to past trauma, including unmet expectations and domestic abuse.

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