ASHLAND, Va. -- There was a full house at the historic Ashland Theater Saturday night for two screenings of "Purple Rain," the 1984 classic starring music legend Prince.
"A group of volunteers scrambled to get a copy of the movie and get permission to show it," said theater contact Kay Landry.
Fans packed the theater.
“I was totally shocked I still am processing it,” Dyanthn Epps said outside the Ashland Theater. “He was so talented. He didn’t just sing, he played music, he could dance… I just loved him.”
The movie stars Prince as The Kid, in a seemingly autobiographical tale of a young musician trying to contend with a rival singer in the thriving Minneapolis club scene.
The movie was released in 1984, shortly after Prince's 1982 album, "1999," thrust him into the spotlight.