Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Led by the bubbly Jasmine Amy Rogers, the 21st century musical version of BOOP! is highly enjoyable escapist fun

• By drediman
• April 8, 2025
• No Comments

Then over at the Broadhurst Theatre, you’ll find Boop! The Musical, a musical inspired by the iconic animated character Betty Boop. During the 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression, the character was featured in 90 cartoons, namely the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. In this new musical, Betty finds herself — much like the characters in the popular 2007 Disney film Enchanted — somehow transported to present-day New York having to navigate life in the bustling big city with only her cartoon-oriented wits about her.

In short, Boop! The Musical is highly enjoyable escapist fun — bright and shiny, while its emotional content largely predictable. The joyous and well-crafted book by The Drowsy Chaperone‘s Bob Martin (who has also been tapped this season to lend his book writing talents to the stage adaptation of Smash) both literally pushes the Betty Boop brand into the 21st century while playing things firmly by the book. Although the musical takes place in multiple dimensions, an overarching cartoon-like sensibility pervades the piece, and not just in the scenes in the “cartoon” world. I just wish there were more danger and subversiveness (think Hairspray) weaved into the material to give it more depth and a sense of unruliness. The brassy, jazzy score by David Foster (music) and Susan Birkenhead (lyrics) — performed with vigor and considerable pep by the cast and the excellent pit orchestra — is often rousing if a tad on the generic side.

As dutifully directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the production is a well-oiled machine, moving from scene to scene with efficiency and robust pacing, thanks in part to David Rockwell’s smart and colorful sets, Gregg Barnes’ vibrant and witty costumes, and Finn Ross’s seamless video projection design. Holding it all together is Jasmine Amy Rogers’ irrepressible and bubbly turn as Betty Boop. With an invariable bounce in her step, she skillfully manages to register as both cartoon and human — ironically, perhaps the most human of the lot. As her reluctant love interest, Ainsley Melham is adorable if a bit two-dimensional, as are veteran musical theater actors Stephen DeRosa and Faith Prince as Grampy and Valentina, respectively.

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BOOP! THE MUSICAL
Broadway, Musical
Broadhurst Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run