Broadway has got it! A hit musical to stand the test of time! Stand back, because BOOP! The Musical book by Bob Martin, music by David Foster, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead is the real deal! It will enchant, delight, and have you cheering for Betty and her cast of friends, feminists, and doubters. It is the ultimate New York show about the city and the many possibilities it brings to all who choose to venture into and experience every space and backspace she has to offer, creating hand-clapping, heart-grabbing, joyful, poignantly human musical scores that lift us to the top of our skyscrapers and beyond!
More Than Entertainment: A Look at Contemporary Themes
What makes “BOOP! The Musical” stand out in the echelon of Broadway musicals is that it is more than the sum of its parts. It delves into feminism, delves into politics in our time – yes, all those theys and thems that have us all in knots. You will laugh out loud and then sigh, because the strangeness of it all is not made up.
Here’s a quick preview featuring Jasmine Amy Rogers as Betty Boop:
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The Plot: Betty’s Journey to Reality
Betty Boop (Broadway newcomer and musical superhero Jasmine Amy Rogers) is tired of living in her world, where she is the ultimate star! Everyone wants a piece of her. She wants to escape, even for a little while, from the constant barrage of fans and hangers-on and all those who depend on her for their very existence. She longs for the opportunity to go to the real world and experience it as a nobody, just another girl. Betty lives in her home with her Grampy, (a hilarious force of nature, Stephen DeRosa) and her pup, Pudgy (marionette artist, Phillip Huber). Betty tells Grampy her wish, and he happens to have a way to get her there. The Max Fleischer character Grampy is an inventor who creates from everyday objects, much like Wallace in Wallace and Gromit.
The History of Betty Boop
Max Fleischer created these feel-good, positive characters in 1930, and Betty and her crew have been a part of our American culture ever since. Based on the jazz singer of the time Helen Kane – Betty is loving and innocent and there to support and help the little guy, and the little pup.
Visual Splendor: The Production Design
When we are in Betty’s world, the stage is a beautiful array of black, white, and gray. Costumes, setting, backdrop, and every part of the stage. It is like looking at old black and white photos with their warmth, clarity, and quiet beauty. When Betty arrives in our world, Philip S. Rosenberg’s lighting design kicks into a whole new stratosphere. Gregg Barnes’ costume designs are breathtaking characters of their own, as is the set design by David Rockwell. Every note of this production, book, music, lyrics, cast, ensemble, designs, director, and choreographer, Jerry Mitchell, is perfection.
The Modern World: Betty at Comic Con
Betty is catapulted into our world, right into New York Comic Con, where her appearance and clothing register as simply super fandomville and nothing more. She wants to see the city and gets some help and guidance from the cautious but intrigued Dwayne (the knock you off your socks, Ainsley Melham). At Comic Con is also Trisha (the spectacular powerhouse Angelica Hale), who is a teenager in love with the Betty Boop character. Trisha is over the moon at how much Betsy, as Betty introduces herself, is so much like the real Betty Boop—even her big head, which Trisha can’t help but remark on. Trisha’s Aunt Carol Evans (the incredible Anastacia McCleskey) is working as a secretary and patron to mayoral hopeful Raymond Demarest (a slimy Erich Bergen), who has some unconventional ideas about how the city should be handled, ideas that mirror the party of take and take for only those higher up. But what Demarest doesn’t know is that this cartoon character is no patsy, and she and the other women plan on making some changes of their own. Grampy shows up with Pudgy to get Betty home and runs into the love of his life, whom he met 40 years ago when he ventured out of his world and into ours. That love, Valentina (our very own Faith Prince), and Grampy look to rekindle what they once had. And Dwayne, the smitten one, shakes Betty’s world.
Musical Excellence
The songs are electrifying, comedic, and the dancing and tapping would make Gregory Hines jealous.
A Must-See Broadway Experience
DO NOT MISS “BOOP! The Musical” A story of how, when all is said and done, we all seem to fit together. Take yourself, your friends, family members, and the person you care most about, and let Betty and all her friends lift you!
Cast and Ensemble
With: Jasmine Amy Rogers, Faith Prince, Ainsley Pelham, Erich Bergen, Stephen DeRosa, Anastasia McCleskey, Angelica Hale, Philip Huber, and Aubie Merryless
Ensemble: Lawrence Alexander, Courtney Arango, Arlee Chadwick, Colin Bradbury, Tristen Buettel, Joshua Burrage, Victoria Byrd, Dan Castiglione, Rebecca Corrigan, Ian Gallagher Fitzgerald, RJ Higton, Nina Lafarga, Morgan McGhee, Ryan Nixon, Christian Probst, Ricky Schroeder, Gabriella Sorrentino, Derek Jordan Taylor, Lizzy Tucker, Amy Van Nostrand, Damani Van Rensalier, Eric Wright, David Wright Jr.
Creative Team
Creative Team: Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, with music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead and a book by Bob Martin, David Rockwell, scenic design; Gregg Barnes, costume design; Philip S. Rosenberg, lighting design; Gareth Owen, sound design; and Finn Ross, projection design, Daryl Waters, music supervision and arrangements; Doug Besterman, Orchestrations; Rick Fox, music director; and Zane Mark, dance music arrangements.
Performance Information
Broadhurst Theatre (235 W 44th St, New York, NY)
Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes with one intermission
Tickets HERE