BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical, which began its world-premiere engagement November 19 at the CIBC Theatre in
Chicago, will officially open December 6. Watch highlights from the production, which continues through December 24, in the video above.
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 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!
The cast also includes Lawrence Alexander (Follies), Tristen Buettel (Bad Cinderella), Colin Bradbury (Funny Girl), Joshua Burrage (Cats), Gabi Campo (Some Like it Hot), Dan Castiglione (Yes Day), Rebecca Corrigan (In the Heights), Josh Drake (Aladdin), RJ Higton (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Phillip Huber (Being John Malkovich), Nina LaFarga (In the Heights), Aubie Merrylees (To Kill a Mockingbird), Morgan McGhee (The Who’s Tommy), Ryah Nixon (Once Upon a One More Time), Christian Probst (Bad Cinderella), Ricky Schroeder (Kinky Boots), Gabriella Sorrentino (Hamilton), Brooke Taylor, Courtney Arango (A Chorus Line), Ian Gallagher Fitzgerald (Kinky Boots), Sydney Jones (A Beautiful Noise), Derek Jordan Taylor, and Amy Van Norstrand (Holiday Inn).
Check out new production photos below:
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.
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.
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.
Tickets are on sale by visiting BroadwayInChicago.com.