“BOOP! The Musical” Review
BOOP! The Musical is a broad, family oriented production which retells the 1930s cartoon icon of Betty Boop updated to suit a new generation.
Acting within her black-and-white world, Betty's life has been reduced to a round of fame and ordinariness. 2025 Tony nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers performs with acuity and a touch of glitter as Betty, and brings the title character back to life. When Betty wants more than her usual, her inventor grandfather, Grampy (Stephen DeRosa), offers her an adventure in one of his inventions. She is sent forward to the modern-day world of New York City, dropping right into the midst of Comic Con. She wishes to finally mind her p's and q's so she hopes no one will know her, but it doesn't work. Her picture is all over billboards, magazine covers, and even t-shirts. Her fame obviously hasn't faded yet.
The first person she meets is Trisha (Angelica Hale), dressed up entirely as Betty Boop cosplaying. Trisha is surprised in a good way by the mind-boggling imitation of Betty, as she guesses that she is merely another fan in costume. Trisha welcomes her, and Betty meets new characters that slowly influence her sense of reality. Outside her own world, Betty begins to acquire the knowledge of how to relate and think regarding her own self in a deeper way. The visual aesthetic mirrors the storytelling. The show begins in grays to portray the world of the cartoon, and as Betty enters the contemporary world, color dominates the stage. David Rockwell's set brings physical elements together with LED screens so that it enhances the action without ever subtracting from it. Gregg Barnes' costumes walk that fine line between old-fashioned and new, maintaining the essence of the original character without allowing her to become outdated.
Betty falls in love with Dwayne, a political speechwriter and jazz pianist, played by Ainsley Melham. The romance provides the show with an earthy emotional plot. Grampy, tagging along with Betty to the real world, realizes her disappearance makes the world of cartoons unbalanced. In doing so, he rekindles his affair with Valentina, his forgotten love. Their subplot is tertiary to the narrative but adds charm and some sweet, loving moments with their song numbers.
The music by David Foster, with lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, is suited to the tone of the show. Some of the songs are better than others, but the cast makes them work. Jasmine Amy Rogers thoroughly embodies Betty—voice, movement, and presence. She brings the entire production together and the additional cast supports her with an effective performance.
The show becomes too long at two hours and thirty minutes. Two or three scenes could be cut without undermining the whole story. Some themes of self-worth and individuality with a little bit of feminism are brought up early but not fully rewarded by the end. The story favors coziness and nostalgia to the more probing questions, and it suits the tone, but there are loose ends that appear to be unresolved.
Despite its shortcomings, BOOP! is entertaining. It is also rather ingenious in the animation and the acting is good. It is an enjoyable production despite its length and number of opportunities that were missed. Are you an old-time Betty Boop enthusiast, or are you just stepping into the action? Either way, there is a lot to like here.
Tickets are available now on Broadway.com, and the original cast recording drops in June—it’s well worth a listen!!
