Should you be in possession of a time machine and a video phone, maybe swing by L.A.’s Kodak Theater in 2004 and film Prince blowing up Tyler Perry’s stage show, if it’s not too much trouble. Sure, we don’t have the exact date, but the footage seems well worth lurking around the theater Phantom of the Opera–style for the entire year to get that video. Perry recounted the incident, which was also the first time he met Prince, and now it takes its place among the pantheon of excellent Prince stories:
“So, I queued the band to start playing Purple Rain and had someone bring Prince the microphone in the audience … BIG MISTAKE! He started to sing Purple Rain and the audience went CRAZY! I had never heard that kind of roar from a crowd before. 3400 people losing their minds!! He sang one verse and the audience was blown away. There was a standing ovation for him AT MY SHOW… lol. He was done singing and the audience wouldn’t stop applauding him. I still had 20 minutes to go before MY show was over. I knew at that moment that I had just been educated by royalty!!”
Prince did come to Perry’s show, where he reassured the Boo! A Madea Halloween director he was actually a huge fan. (The two went on to become friends.) Relieved, Perry went forward with singing perhaps the artist’s most famous song during the show:
“So, I queued the band to start playing Purple Rain and had someone bring Prince the microphone in the audience … BIG MISTAKE! He started to sing Purple Rain and the audience went CRAZY! I had never heard that kind of roar from a crowd before. 3400 people losing their minds!! He sang one verse and the audience was blown away. There was a standing ovation for him AT MY SHOW… lol. He was done singing and the audience wouldn’t stop applauding him. I still had 20 minutes to go before MY show was over. I knew at that moment that I had just been educated by royalty!!”
You can read the entire story on Tyler Perry’s Facebook page. Again, 2004. It doesn’t have to be your first stop, but you already have a time machine, so. It’s not like you can’t squeeze it in.
