BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical officially opened its world-premiere engagement December 6 following previews that began November 19 at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago, and the reviews are coming in. See what the critics have to say about the new show below.
Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, La Cages aux Folles, Hairspray) directs and choreographs the new musical 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 Susan Birkenhead (Working, Jelly's Last Jam), and a book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Prom).
Jasmine Amy Rogers (Mean Girls) stars in the title role, joined by Tony winner Faith Prince (Guys and Dolls) as Valentina, Ainsley Anthony Melham (Aladdin) as Dwayne, Erich Bergen (Jersey Boys) as Raymond, Stephen DeRosa (Boardwalk Empire) as Grampy, Angelica Hale as Trisha, and Anastacia McCleskey (Caroline or Change) as Carol.
Video: Watch Jasmine Amy Rogers Sing 'Where I Wanna Be' From BOOP!
Read the reviews below.
Chicago Concert Review (Andy Argyrakis)
Chicago Culture Authority (Frank Sennett)
The Chicago Sun Times (Catey Sullivan)
The Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
Newcity Stage (Brian Hieggelke)
Shaw Local News Network (Mary Beth Euker)
Talkin' Broadway (Karen Topham)
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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
The cast also includes Lawrence Alexander (Follies), Courtney Arango (A Chorus Line), Colin Bradbury (Funny Girl), Tristen Buettel (Bad Cinderella), Joshua Michael Burrage (Cats), Gabi Campo (Some Like it Hot), Daniel Castiglione (Yes Day), Rebecca Corrigan (In the Heights), Josh Drake (Aladdin), Ian Gallagher Fitzgerald (Kinky Boots), RJ Higton (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Sydney Jones (A Beautiful Noise), Nina Lafarga (In the Heights), Morgan McGhee (The Who’s Tommy at the Goodman), Aubie Merrylees (To Kill a Mockingbird), Ryah Nixon (Once Upon a One More Time), Christian Probst (Bad Cinderella), Ricky Schroeder (Kinky Boots), Gabriella Sorrentino (Hamilton), Brooke Taylor, Derek Jordan Taylor, and Amy Van Norstrand (Holiday Inn).
The creative team includes set designer David Rockwell, costume designer Gregg Barnes, lighting designer Philip S. Rosenberg, sound designer Gareth Owen, projection designer Finn Ross, hair and wig designer Sabana Majeed, makeup designer Michael Clifton, and illusions designer Skyler Fox. Marionette design is by The Huber Marionettes, and musical supervision and arrangements are by Tony winner Daryl Waters with orchestrations by Doug Besterman, dance music arrangements by Zane Mark, and music direction and additional arrangements by Andrew Resnick. Casting is by Tara Rubin.
In BOOP!, 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.”
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.
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