BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical will make its pre-Broadway world premiere this fall, playing a six-week engagement November 19–December 31 at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago.
Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, La Cages aux Folles, Hairspray) will direct and choreograph the new musical based on the classic cartoon character. Casting will be announced at a later date.
Based on the characters created by Max Fleischer, BOOP! features music by Grammy winner David Foster (“I Have Nothing,” “After The Love Is Gone,” “The Prayer”), lyrics by Tony nominee Susan Birkenhead (Working, Jelly’s Last Jam), and a book by Tony winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom).
In The Betty Boop Musical, Betty's dream of an ordinary day off from the super-celebrity in her black-and-white world leads to an adventure of color, music, and love in New York City—one that reminds her and the world, “You are capable of amazing things.”
Director Mitchell says, “Creating a new Broadway musical is such a gift. It is a special joy to be working on BOOP! in Chicago, so close to my hometown, at the very theatre where I first fell in love with musicals when I saw A Chorus Line there back in 1978.
“David Foster and Susan Birkenhead have created a first-class score to frame Bob Martin’s touching tale about an icon, Betty Boop and her indomitable spirit in this Jazz Hot love story. BOOP! is for everybody. I promise the entire family will be singing and dancing as they walk up the aisle."
Introduced in 1930, Betty Boop initially appeared as a dog-like stage performer who sang and danced with another dog-like character, Bimbo. Inspired by the Jazz Age flappers and entertainers of the 1920s, Betty evolved into a full-fledged human character, and by 1932 she was the only female animated screen star in the world. Voiced by Mae Questel, Betty starred in more than 100 cartoons, 90 of which are included in the official Betty Boop series, which ended in 1939.
A musical based on the cartoon character has been in the works for several years. In 2004 Andrew Lippa said he was collaborating with David Lindsay-Abaire; Jason Robert Brown had previously been attached as the composer. And, in 2008 it was announced that a Betty Boop musical was aiming for a Broadway premiere during the 2010-2011 season; that production was set to feature music by Foster and a book by Oscar Williams and Sally Robinson.
Groups of 10 or more can book now by visiting BroadwayInChicago.com.
