Letter from Chicago: At a new exhibit, people find their inner Prince
| Chicago
Randy and Amber Scott have just experienced something akin to teleportation.
On a June afternoon in downtown Chicago, they鈥檙e visiting a new exhibition, 鈥淧rince: The Immersive Experience.鈥� The gleeful couple tell me it鈥檚 as if they鈥檇 been whisked to Paisley Park, Prince鈥檚 private estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The exhibition has done an excellent job re-creating the iconic musician鈥檚 studio there, Mr. Scott says. He聽should know. In 1997, he was among radio contest winners treated to a performance by Prince at the place that is now a tourist attraction.
鈥淚 miss him,鈥� says Mr. Scott, who cried when Prince died in 2016. 鈥淗e was a link between me and my father. ... Every year that Prince dropped an album, Dad would take me to the聽record store.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onWhen culture writer Stephen Humphries recently visited a new immersive experience about Prince, he came away with a sense of the joy the musician brought to his fans 鈥� and a better understanding of the artist鈥檚 generosity.
The enthusiastic attendees here in Chicago look to be predominantly baby boomers or Gen Xers, like me. As I wander through the galleries, I wonder about Prince鈥檚 impact on the world and whether the artist means anything to millennials and Gen Zers. After all, his hit 鈥�1999鈥� is about a year many of them are too young to remember. Surveys reveal that younger generations are barely aware of Elvis Presley. If Prince鈥檚 work were to similarly fade from cultural memory, does that diminish his legacy?
I ask music business analyst Bob Lefsetz whether exhibitions such as this one help keep an act in the public eye. He counters that they鈥檙e aimed at existing fans. 鈥淎lmost all of this is capitalizing on 鈥� I hate to use the word nostalgia that often 鈥� but a demand, or an interest, into a different era when music drove the culture,鈥� the author of the Lefsetz Letter tells me. 鈥淭he icons of today are nowhere near the size of the icons in the past. ... So [visitors] want a hint of what once was.鈥�
鈥淧rince: The Immersive Experience鈥� offers details about the artist鈥檚 biography and discography.聽The exhibition seems tailor-made for Instagram. Visitors snap pictures of a portable keyboard called a keytar that, of course, is purple. Flashes of cellphone cameras glance off glass cases of costumes that are heavy on velvet and ruffles. (Did the man ever secretly just wear jeans and a T-shirt?)聽
I ask several teenagers, each tagging along with their parents, what they make of the flamboyant icon.
Layla Ayaleanos says Prince isn鈥檛 a big deal among her friends at school. But she鈥檚 excited to learn more about the musician given that her mom, Mary, named their dog after him. They adopted the pet the day after Prince died.
The only song that high school student Lily Johnson recognizes in the exhibition is 鈥淩aspberry Beret.鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even know that much about Prince, but [the exhibition] was really cool,鈥� she says. 鈥淗is music seems really sort of, like, outside of the box.鈥澛犅�
Richard Gay, chief operating officer of Superfly, the entertainment company behind the show, says that younger visitors love taking selfies inside the lush 鈥淒iamonds and Pearls鈥� lounge.聽
鈥淭hey may come just because, 鈥楬ey, I heard about this Prince guy,鈥欌�� says Mr. Gay,聽adding that it鈥檚 easier than ever for them to do a deep dive into finding out more about the artist.聽鈥淏ack in my day, that meant, 鈥楲et me go to the record store.鈥� You know what it means for them? 鈥楲et me jump on my computer. Let me hear every song he鈥檚 ever done. Let me see every video that he鈥檚 ever done. Let me watch these movies.鈥� And they can do that in two nights.鈥�
One aspect of 鈥淧rince: The Immersive Experience鈥� that may surprise visitors is information about the artist鈥檚 philanthropy. By donating millions of dollars to those living in poverty, Prince helped others get through this thing called life.聽
He could also be unexpected in other ways.聽I once saw him end a 2011 show in Los Angeles with an encore of 鈥淧urple Rain,鈥� only to reappear after the lights went up 鈥� on a bicycle. He rode around the arena and then hopped onstage for another three encores.
While touring the exhibition, Sheri Lucas tells her adult son about the time she went to a Prince concert when she was using crutches.聽鈥淭hey upgraded my seats to handicapped seats and I was in the first row,鈥� says Ms. Lucas, who poses for a photo with her son on a replica of the motorcycle from the movie 鈥淧urple Rain.鈥�
Of the exhibit, she says, 鈥淏est time of my life ever. Ever!鈥�
鈥淧rince: The Immersive Experience鈥澛爃elps showcase the range of Prince鈥檚 influence 鈥� on style, on music, on generosity. Mr. Lefsetz adds another Prince achievement: innovation. But for fans, it鈥檚 often the feelings that stick with them most. Millions have danced and sung along to 鈥淜iss,鈥� 鈥淟ittle Red Corvette,鈥� and 鈥淟et鈥檚 Go Crazy.鈥� Many have wept while listening to 鈥淲hen Doves Cry.鈥�
鈥淧rince, for me, musically can take me through every emotion that I ever want to go through,鈥� says Mr. Scott, the fan who saw a gig at Paisley Park. 鈥淗e could never be duplicated or replicated.鈥�
鈥淧rince: The Immersive Experience鈥� is in Chicago through Oct. 9.聽
