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Mickey Jo
Where is Betty? Betty's on Broadway. Why is that? Good question. The answer, I'm assuming, is money. Money that the show presumably hoped that it would currently be making. Why is that not currently happening? I hear you ask. Well, this might be the answer. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. My name is Mickey Jo and I am obsessed with all things theatre. I'm a professional theatre critic here on social media. I go and see shows all around the world and then I let you know what I thought of them. And today we are going to be reviewing the new Broadway musical Boop, all about the iconic character Betty Boop. Boop. Boop. The show is currently playing at the Broadhurst Theatre after playing an out of town tryout in Chicago and it's one of many new musicals to have opened on Broadway this spring. I've already reviewed many of the others here on my channel. If you want to know my thoughts about Smash, about Redwood, about maybe happy ending, about death becomes her, you can go and find those reviews with a few more to follow soon. So make sure that you are subscribed with the notifications turned on so you don't miss all of my upcoming thoughts about the other shows in New York as well as here in the uk. Or if it's easier for you, you can find me also on podcast platforms. Now, as always, I would also love to know what you thought of Boop, because there are many differing opinions when it comes to this show. But in the meantime, here is what I thought. So I'm going to do something a little bit unusual for me and we're going to start by talking about a Boop musical, conceptually, a musical based around the notion of Betty Boop. Because like Mickey Mouse as a example, she is an iconic visual character who has stood the test of time. So recognizable. Everyone knows Betty Boop. You know what this face is, you know who she is and you know something of the personality that goes along with that and even the characteristics of her world. But in terms of a story that proves a little bit more elusive, just like with Mickey Mouse himself. And you can think about like the Sorcerer's Apprentice and you can think about like, oh, gotta get these flowers for Minnie and like Pluto and friends and all of this stuff. Stuff. But he doesn't really have a strong narrative like characters from a Disney movie. And so when it comes to adapting something conceptual for the stage, we can find ourselves in a little bit of hot water because, and I've said this many times specifically about new shows opening this Broadway season because it's proving relevant. A musical ought to have, at the bare minimum, two things, a great story and great songs. And it's the story which I think has been the bigger challenge for Boop. Now, it has some resemblances to the Barbie movie. That's a comparison I think we're going to be making a lot. Lot. But I've actually been told that the Boop development, the work on this show and the workshops and everything predate the release of the Barbie movie. And it sort of stands to reason that they would go the same route. That as soon as you decide you're going to do a story about Betty going to the real world in the modern day, then there's going to be a lot of parallels between these two characters who have been the center of their universes, experiencing how they are perceived and what society is like, and all of the differences between the real world and their own. And we'll talk about how that goes in the musical. But even before we get to all of that, my curiosity is, how many people are really banging down the door to go and see a Betty Boop musical? Is this something that people were crying out for? Even if you love Betty Boop, is there this huge desire to see her on stage? Are people more excited about going and buying really aesthetic merchandise because she's always been an iconic aesthetic character? Do people really need to experience Betty live and in person? Or does this feel like something that would be better suited to, like, Universal Studios, to, like, a Hollywood themed theme park area where you can meet Betty Boop as a character walking down the street? And is Boop, in fact more of a theme park show that has somehow found its way to Broadway? That is my thinking. Because while there are many, many good ideas that have gone into this, I just don't think it's a strong enough narrative to justify opening alongside all of these other shows in this season. And not everything has to be Shakespeare. I know that I'm gonna hear this in the comments because I shared another video review recently and people, well, not everything has to be Shakespeare. And I don't need for everything to be Shakespeare. It would be inappropriate for Boop to be Shakespeare. That would be strange. Think about what you're saying. But I do honestly think that Betty deserves better. And I could tell you, many charming shows, whimsical shows, shows for family audiences, shows for kids, that are far better put together than a show like this, that have a compelling story, that are engaging, that are silly and light hearted and whimsical, but still have meaning and still have at least one layer of depth that makes sense. I don't need for us to have have multiple layers of nuance and weight and hidden meanings and foreshadowing and all of that traditional theatrical fodder. But I need for the surface layer. If that's all we're going to do. I need for that at least to make sense. And that is the BOOP problem. So if it hadn't already become clear, I was disappointed by this show. And that's after I went along with already lowered expectations, which has been the case with many of the spring Broadway openings. I've been told about a handful of shows that weren't getting great word of mouth going in. In fact, I think I was more disappointed by this than many of New York's critics, who seem to find a lot more charm in it than I did. And I wish I'd been able to suspend all of my criticism and just enjoy it visually, but there were too many issues. I'm going to expand on some of those for you now. So here is the biggest boot problem in a little more depth. It's the story. There just isn't a good story here. I'm going to paint you the picture of what exactly happens. We meet Betty in her own world. It's a black and white world. And she does everything. She sings this great opening number about versatility because she's playing all of the different roles that Betty Boop has played over the years and she's doing all these things and she's leading this big, high energy production number. She is the star, she is the center of this universe. And in fact, in the Betty Boop world, she is filming all of these shorts for consumption in another dimension somewhere else. I have no idea how that distribution package actually works, but clearly it's very clever and it invokes immediately, like the idea of the Barbie world that we see in the Barbie movie, where you have like rocket scientist Barbie and President Barbie and all of these different roles. Betty Boop has a similar sort of thing. I mentioned in my review of Smash that I feel a bit like this is a mistake. I think it works better for Boop than it does for Smash. They have an opening number where you see all of the iconic Marilyn moments and she's running around the stage giving you every single Marilyn scene. And it's much more high energy than Marilyn was ever really seen to be be. I think both shows are inherently trying to introduce an icon who needs no introduction, but I guess a lot of audiences probably know a little bit less about Betty. And for Betty to have her own voice and tell us in her own words means a little more, because she's really just an image at this point. Now, after all of this, like many a musical theatre character we've seen before, she has everything. She is the center of the world, but still there is something that she is not quite getting. It's a part of your world moment, and she is searching for some kind of fulfillment she doesn't even really understand. What she does know is that her scientific genius grandpa has built a device that can transport her to the human world. So she uses this and goes to find whatever it is that she's looking for. Betty gets sent to the real world. This is where the problems begin. Because even though it's an ingenious move to have her turn up dressed in the iconic Betty Boop outfit with a great wig at New York Comic Con so that nobody is, like, immediately taken aback and shocked to see her there, they just think that she's in a great Betty Boop cosplay. The world that she finds herself in, we come to understand, is not the real world. It's a cartoon version of the real world. Because everyone there is wearing these oversaturated bright outfits. Everyone is behaving in this extreme comic way. It's these broad caricatures. When we later get to meet a corrupt man who is running for mayor, he is basically a cartoon villain. He is ridiculous. Which is not to say that you don't encounter broad, comic, ridiculous characters, especially in American politics. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. There is a moment where we find ourselves on the iconic red steps of Times Square, and Betty gets to meet all of the people who dress up as different characters in Times Square. And if you've ever spent any time in that area, you will know that the way that they are presented here doesn't really feel authentic. It doesn't feel like New York. When Grampy uses the device to chase after her and he has all these shenanigans running around the city, it doesn't feel like contemporary New York either, because, you know, it's all bright and colorful and silly and a very safe, family friendly cartoon. If Grampy was in the real New York searching for Betty late at night, he'd be, like, offered drugs on the side subway and he'd be getting arrested, which I happen to think is funnier. But it's probably not the show that family audiences want to go and see. That is something that I found myself Saying a lot when I was tossing over in my head other ideas about how you could make this show work and give it some sense of meaning. Because Betty meets a young sort of found family of individuals at the Comic Con and goes to stay with them, and they take care of her, and she gets to know the world through their eyes. The mother figure is the campaign manager, manager of the ridiculous guy who is running for office. Betty meets a young girl who is wearing lots of Betty Boop merchandise and who is her biggest fan, because apparently there are teenagers in the 2000s who are big Betty Boop fans. And there is a young, age appropriate jazz musician who is also somehow related to or connected to them. And Betty and him immediately have this little spark of chemistry, which is sweet and charming, and I love a little romantic subplot like that. And I enjoy these characters. But when they eventually come to find out who she is and she tells them about her world and the stories that she usually tells and the movies that she usually makes, she comes to realize that they often revolve around her getting chased around a desk and then knocking someone out with a frying pan. And she keeps talking about it and talking about it, and she sort of pauses as she talks about getting chased. And she realizes that this isn't something that she is proud to necessarily represent. Sure enough, it ends up happening to her in the real human world as well. And she then solves her problem as she always does. But there is no sense of threat or danger or reality when it happens. It's just a colorful cartoon rather than a black and white one. And yet this is where I found myself going back to the idea of what people actually want to go and see when they go to a Betty Boop musical. Because if they were to make this like a real life conversation about the harassment that women and young women face and Betty Boop being a way of talking about that, it would be super meaningful. But you have to assume that tourists aren't buying tickets to the Betty Boop musical to watch Betty Boop get sexually assaulted. Like, I assume that that's not what anyone wants to happen here. Similarly, you could have a conversation about race, but we don't really touch on that. We scarcely touch on that. And I think it's brilliant that they have explicitly cast young black women to play Betty Boop, who, if you don't know, was visually based around the aesthetics of a black woman, but who has sort of then, in her own way, been whitewashed through history. I think that's an interesting facet of Betty's character that she could discover perceiving herself from the human world. This is else I really wanted them to lean into. Because when she has conversations with the young girl and with the older guy about how she is perceived, saying, what do you know of me? What do you think of me? They always lead with the adjectives like, oh, strong and independent and feminine and then sexy. He eventually says, and I'm thinking, nobody thinks of Betty Boop like Betty Boop, to my mind, has never really been this symbol of powerful feminism. And, yeah, that's an aspect of all of her stories. But whether she likes it or not, she's been appropriate, created as a sex symbol for much of her existence. That is something that Betty ought to come face to face within this story. You know, she's making all these films. She's proud of the work that she's doing in black and white. She goes to the real world, she finds out, oh, my gosh, that's how I'm thought of. I'm not thought of as, like, a suitable role model for young women. I'm just this vulgar sex symbol. Then she would have a reason to want to go back to her world and change everything. And when she eventually does go back to her world, at the end, she tells the filmmakers, no more stories where I'm getting chased. So she has learned that much, but it just needs a little bit more heft. And in fact, we've arrived at what I think is the biggest problem in the story, or really the lack thereof, which is Betty doesn't actually get to make the choice to go back to her own world. Now, since Betty has left her world, we get told in very brief asides that her world is basically collapsing without her. A similar sort of logic has been deployed recently by the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of, like, essential people who anchor their own timelines and who have to exist in different dimensions. I'm losing the point here. In any case, Grampy is chasing after Betty to try and return her to her own world. He finds her, but she's already fallen in love, and she gets dragged back to her own world just in time to sing a heartfelt 11 o'clock number ballad about needing something to shout about, and in fact, she's just found it. But it's all pretty dissatisfying, as is the end of act one, when the young male love interest takes her to a jazz club and she's had a little too much to drink, but she still gives a perfect performance of a great song called Where I want to be in the club. And everyone's like, oh, my gosh, it's Betty Boop. And the curtain comes down and we have no reason why we're going into an intermission because there's no stakes whatsoever. There's a pretty easy fix for all of this because Grampy, by that point in Act 1, is already in the real world searching for her. So all he needs to do is go into the club and be like, there she is. There's Betty and have other people with him, and they chase her off the stage and she grabs the guy that she's in love with because he's like a trumpet player or whatever. And she's like, no, I'm not ready to go yet. And they flee and they get chased out. Then the curtain comes down. End of act one. Oh, my gosh, there's suspense. How lovely for us all. There's something to think about while we go and get a drink and queue for 15 minutes for a bathroom that we're never going to have time to use. Then when you come back in the second act, she has all of these conversations with the young girl. She finds out that what she's representing isn't what she wants to be representing for young girls, and she has a reason to want to go back. So when Grampy finds her again, she says, I'm ready now. I have a responsibility. I have to go back. And she makes the choice. Betty doesn't get booped back to the boop verse without getting to, you know, decide for herself. Give Betty Boop the right to choose. Honestly, who knew I cared so much about Betty Boop and before I saw this show, I didn't really. I just think that there is a good story here. They just aren't finding it. And there's so many strange little accompanying side details. Faith Prince, the wonderful icon of musical theatre, Faith Prince, should get a Tony Award for best performance in a pointless role in a musical, because what the heck is the character that she is playing? Evidently, she is some old flame of the grandfather. And so he finds her and she's wearing all pink like a cartoon. And they reconnect so that they can do absolutely nothing and just waste time. Instead of looking for Betty, she has a line at the top of Act 2 and a really great production number I'll tell you about in just a moment, where she's singing about, like, if I help find Betty, everyone's going to be like, valentina, you're amazing. And I will be famous and celebrated, and I'm Starting to think, oh, there's a reason why these scenes scenes feel a little strange. And arrives because she's secretly the villain, only she's not. There is no reason for her to be there. She barely helps Grampy with anything. She just turns up and sings this little duet with him as he starts sneezing like he's Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, a role that she famously played. And you're waiting for there to be some kind of meaning, but there just isn't. One of my friends has a working theory that Boop has a similarity to Company. The best version of this show would be one where Betty is searching for meaning and every in the show is a different little vignette and she's trying to find meaning in different ways. A little like Pippin in that way, I suppose. And the thing is, is not only does Company have this undercurrent of progress and Bobby as a character being shaped by all of these experiences, the scenes are also considerably better written. But then there's the fact that they lead to something substantial. They lead to him making this major life decision for himself. And Betty doesn't get to do that. And maybe it was a mistake trying to make this a consistent through narrative. Maybe a series of short vignettes would be, you know, more in keeping with the original Betty Boop style. Maybe trying to do something true to the tone of Betty as a character in the real world as it really is, just inherently doesn't work. It feels a little like the Barbie movie, a little like Enchanted as another example. And it's not the story that they're trying to tell here where they want to let Betty be Betty. But also maybe doing something that is deliberately silly and whimsical and cartoonish with a two act structure also doesn't work. And it should just be a series of little shorts with some loose connection and a focus and. And somewhere to go at the end. We need somewhere to go. Take us somewhere, Betty, please. And so in conclusion, I think it does all boil back to that problem of no one really knowing what people are expecting from a Betty Boop musical, what people want from a Betty Boop musical, because we don't have that sense of something that we're even trying to achieve here. We're just sort of having fun and wasting time. Which isn't to say I hated the entire thing. Let's spend a little bit of time talking about some of the aspects of this production that I enjoyed. So Boop has been directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, who more so than Anything else is going to make sure, as a director, that you always have something engaging and exciting to look at. The whole thing could feel very slow because of how thin this story is, but it doesn't, because of how rich the visuals are. Because you always have something compelling to see. Even the way that these little romantic scenes are staged with them sat together on a rooftop. Like everything is made just that little bit visually accessible, exciting. Never more so than in the introductory numbers of the first and second act. At the top of act one, we have this great big company number. It's in a black and white world and everyone is tap dancing. And I love that. And then we have this wizard of Oz style transition to a world of vibrant color. These two ideas getting brilliantly juxtaposed at the top of Act 2, as characters from Betty's world are singing, where is Betty? Because our. Our universe is dying, which is a very bleak thought. And characters from the real world who have just discovered that Betty Boop is here in New York, in Manhattan and is. And running around the streets are singing, where is Betty? We want to know where she is. You have the whole company wearing outfits that are vibrantly colorful on one side and are black and white on the other side, and they are doing about turns so that we swap between fully colourful chorus lines of people and fully black and white ones as we swap between these two places interchangeably. It's such a great visual. The song that they're singing is innocuous enough. They're singing, where is Betty? Betty is here. We've got to find her. Boop boop ba doop. And truly, never is a lyricist more out of ideas than when they just finish a line with boop boop a doop. But at least it's the Betty Boop musical and you can get away with that. If you were trying to do that in Sweeney Todd, that might be strange. The lyrics are written by Susan Birkenhead. The score is by David Foster. David Foster, who is the musical mind behind a great many iconic pieces of music, has worked considerably less in the theatre. In fact, this is his first musical, even though he has something like 16 Grammy awards. And I enjoy the score that he's composed for this. It's jazzy, it feels jazz age. It feels appropriate for Betty. Like I mentioned, that song, I Told you Where I Want To Be, that's a real hit. That's a great song. Bob Martin has written the book. Bob, who is also a co writer of the book for Smash this season. And it's very Charming. It's very sweet. Betty, in particular, as a character, is very clearly put across, and she is hugely endearing, in part also due to the performance of Jasmine, Amy Rogers, who we will talk about. But I think a lot of my biggest praise for the show has to be the design elements. I think the whole thing looks really stunning and really striking. When you're working with the aesthetic of Betty Boop, then you have that expectation that it's gonna be really cute and cute to look at. There are some very charming projections. There's a little smiling face on a moon, and there's a bouncing ball that moves along. Some lyrics as we are encouraged to sing along. And we get rainbows of color, and we get these very effectively created black and white scenes as well. Like I said, very wizard of Oz. The projection design is by Finn Ross. David Rockwell has done the scenic design. Greg Barnes has done the costumes. I love these costumes. I think they're great. I love everything that Betty wears. But my favorite thing about the Betty Boop design is that wig. The way that they've styled that wig. I mean, creating her hair, which defies gravity and physics and science in the real world, and creating a wig that doesn't look super flat, like they've given it enough volume in the way that they've moved those curls out. Just the way that they've done it, I think is so, so great. The wig design is by Sabana Majeed. I think it's fantastic. The makeup design by Michael Clifton also plays a big part in that as well. And Skylar Fox is credited for illusions design. We have some fun disappearing moments. But I also want to talk about puppet Tree, because the marionette design is credited to the Huber Marionettes. And you will notice I have a guest over here behind me. Pudgy, Betty's dog, is a character who we see in the show who is puppeteered by this brilliant, accomplished marionette artist. The design, as I just told you, is credited to the Huber Marionettes, and he is Philip Huber. It's so charming. It's so vivid. It's so brilliant the way that this dog is brought to life. I've seen a lot of dogs puppeteered on the stage before, and never with so much character or with so much dexterity because he can pick up a newspaper with his mouth and take it over to grab it. I've seen teams of people not able to articulate a small dog as much as this one gentleman is able to do. It's fantastic work. It's very, very Sweet. I would unironically give him a Tony Award nomination for best featured actor in a musical because I think it's a huge part of it. I think it takes an extraordinary amount of theatrical skill. Pudgy is legitimately scene stealing. And since we've started talking about performers, we have to spend a lot of time talking about Jasmine Amy Rogers. I'd heard great things about her performance and people often talk this way about newcomers and debuts and jazz, and I think I can sometimes get a little bit cynical. But truly, this is a star making role for her and this is a real star is born moment on the Broadway stage. She is sensational. It's a knockout performance. It completely took me back. I was moved to tears. Not really because of any depth in the material, but just because of her incredibly endearing, heartwarming and heartbreaking performance. There's not a lot of melancholy in her story, but she spends so much of the show with a tear in her eye and this little affectation. The voice that she does throughout is brilliant and is characterized. And even though she's got got this cartoonish wig on, she's got all of this makeup, she's wearing these outfits and she's putting on this little silly character voice and it's all familiar of Betty Boop and it's a great performance. She still finds a humanity through that as well, in the little vocal tremble in the tear in her eye. I ended up buying Rush tickets to this show. We were a little too wide to the stage to enjoy all of the projections. I liked what I could see, but we were close enough to really be able to see the moving detail of her performance on her face. And I was very glad that we were because I thought it was stunning. Stunning. This before we talk about the singing and the dancing talent. I mean, sensational leading this company, dancing up a storm, singing her heart out, sounding fantastic. I'm almost ready to call it my favorite leading lady performance of the season. This in a season that also contains Audra McDonald and Nicole Scherzinger and many other brilliant performances because what they do with hard, hard work in very demanding roles, Jasmine seems to do, do effortlessly and naturally. And there's something magical about the work that she's doing on that stage. I can only imagine the performances that she is going to get to give in more substantial shows. Because if she can make me cry at boop, if she can make boop heartbreaking, I think she can do anything. And she's not alone on that stage. I also enjoyed Stephen derosa As Grampy, I thought he again was very exaggerated and broad and wacky in a way that made sense. Faith Prince as meant mentioned just wildly pointless as a character thrilled to get to see her on a Broadway stage. Eric Bergen also really did astonishingly little in this show. In a show that really could have used a villain arriving earlier in the thing. Ainsley Mellon plays Betty's love interest. He is an Australian performer, I believe, and an incredibly talented young man. He has this great jazzy voice. He sings a song early in the second act called like she knocks me out or something to that effect. Him and Betty have had a little bit of a falling out, I think, because. Because he's annoyed that she didn't tell him who she was. Straight at this. There's some kind of issue between them there that could be incredibly easily resolved and soon enough is. I think he's another one who is remarkably talented. It's great to see him on Broadway and I'm sure we'll see more exciting things from him as well. Angelica Hale is a 17 year old performer making her Broadway debut in Boop. She's clearly very talented, very charismatic, a brilliant young actress. I really enjoyed her voice as well. It didn't feel like homogenized Broadway. It felt like a very distinctive and unique vocal tone. And she's only 17, so it's all gonna continue to. But I thought she was a very exciting young performer. I don't remember any of these characters names. I've just looked it up. Apparently she was called Trish or Trisha. I could not have told. Gun to my head, I couldn't have told you the names of these characters in boop. She's the one who is a great Betty Boop fan and becomes a close friend to her and one of the ones that Betty really doesn't want to leave behind, but who she wants to set a better example for. Once she does. I did find myself saying, because there is another character here played by Anastasia McCleskey who is older, wouldn't it make more sense if the older woman was the Betty Boop fan and the 17 year old girl had no idea and she had to explain to the young girl who may as well be her daughter. There's a kind of a subplot here around her being orphaned and being. I don't know if this was her aunt or if this was an adoptive mother. I really can't remember what the relationship was here, but I said to my fiance Erin afterwards as we were leaving the show, wouldn't it have made more sense. If that was just her mother and she was the Betty Boop fan and she explained it to her daughter, who then, like, came to love Betty in her own way. And Aaron said, yeah, it might have made more sense, but that's the Barbie movie. That's the thing. I think there's so much crossover between the two that that was something that had to be steered clear of. And so we end up with this very convoluted characterization of the two of them. Great work done by those performers, but it's. It's all a little contrived. Which is not to say that it's not a fun show. I think there is certainly fun to be had at Boop, the Betty Boop musical. I think the whole thing is a little fundamentally and inherently misguided, but it's great to look at. She's sensational. There's some brilliant production numbers. It's easy to listen to. It is satisfying and. And entertaining in the most basic sense. But I just think we need a better story, and there's a better story within their grasp here that they're just not quite gripping onto tightly enough. There's so much about this show that I think could be fixed, but even if it were, it would still only be this sweet and basic candy floss concept. And I wonder about, you know, a slightly bigger version of this one with a little bit more dimension, where Betty goes to a real version of the real world and really, you know, gets a sense of what she's come to mean. That I've said all of this before. I'm just repeating myself, but I really feel passionately that there is a better Boop musical to be had. Maybe we'll see it down the line. Maybe there will be reworkings one day. Certainly, it seems at the moment, with the Tony nomination set to be announced, that the show is not enjoying the success it may have hoped for. I hope that things can turn around for Boop at the box office. I still don't really know who is desperate to see this kind of a show, but if you want just like, escapism and tap dancing and a show where you can turn your. Your brain off for a couple hours, I really think you do need to turn your brain off this one. Go and see Boop. And you know what? Go and see it anyway. If for no other reason than to bear witness to the Star is born moment for Jasmine Amy Rogers. She is sensational. Go see her, go see the dog and enjoy everything else along the way. Those have been my thoughts on Boop. I will be back here very shortly with thoughts on more of this season's new shows, but in the meantime I would love to know what you thought. Have you been to see Betty at the Broadhurst? Let us know what you thought of the show in the comments down below. Especially if you wildly disagree with me, please let me know why you loved this show. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening to this review. I hope that you enjoyed Like I said, there will be more Broadway reviews coming soon as well as plenty of West End reviews. If you want to know more about what it was like going to the theatre, seeing the show, then you can find that in my recent vlogs about going to New York. We spoke or Boop during Part two and as I mentioned, later this week the Tony nominations will be announced. Make sure you're subscribed with notifications turned on so you don't miss me reacting live to the Tony announcements where we may see some recognition for boop. Hopefully Jasmine Amy Rogers becomes a Tony Award nominee. Otherwise, I have nothing left to say. Thank you again for listening and I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a Stagey Day. Subscrib.
Podcast Summary: MickeyJoTheatre Episode on "Boop! The Musical"
Introduction
In the April 28, 2025 release of the MickeyJoTheatre podcast, host Mickey-Jo delves into a comprehensive review of the Broadway production "Boop! The Musical," which premiered at the Broadhurst Theatre. As a prominent voice in theatre criticism with a substantial YouTube following, Mickey-Jo offers an in-depth analysis, balancing both commendations and criticisms to provide listeners with a nuanced perspective on the latest Broadway offerings.
Overview of "Boop! The Musical"
"Boop! The Musical" centers around the iconic character Betty Boop, transitioning her from her classic black-and-white animation origins into a contemporary Broadway setting. The musical follows Betty's journey as she seeks fulfillment beyond her self-contained universe, leading her to the human world via a device created by her scientifically gifted grandfather.
Story and Narrative Critique
Mickey-Jo expresses concerns regarding the musical's narrative strength, highlighting that "a musical ought to have, at the bare minimum, two things, a great story and great songs" (00:00). He argues that while the foundational concept of Betty Boop as a beloved character is solid, the execution falters in delivering a compelling storyline. The protagonist's quest for meaning in the real world mirrors themes seen in recent films like the Barbie movie, leading to inevitable comparisons that Mickey-Jo finds somewhat unoriginal.
A significant point of contention is the lack of depth in addressing Betty's transition from a purely aesthetic symbol to a character with meaningful agency. Mickey-Jo critiques the superficial handling of Betty's struggle with her identity and societal perceptions, noting, "Betty doesn't actually get to make the choice to go back to her own world" ([transcript time not provided]). This, he believes, undermines the emotional stakes of the narrative, leaving the audience disengaged from Betty's journey.
Visual and Design Elements Praise
Despite his reservations about the story, Mickey-Jo lauds several aspects of the production's design and visual appeal:
Direction and Choreography: Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the musical boasts "rich visuals" and "engaging and exciting" staging that prevent the production from feeling sluggish despite its narrative shortcomings (09:30).
Scenic and Costume Design: The scenic design by David Rockwell and costumes by Greg Barnes receive high praise for their stunning and striking aesthetics. Mickey-Jo is particularly impressed with the wig design by Sabana Majeed, noting, "creating her hair, which defies gravity and physics" showcases exceptional craftsmanship (20:45).
Projection and Puppet Design: Finn Ross's projection design effectively complements the transition between Betty's black-and-white world and the vibrant human realm. Additionally, the marionette work by Philip Huber, who controls Betty's dog Pudgy, is highlighted as "legitimately scene-stealing" and deserving of accolades (15:10).
Performances Review
Mickey-Jo offers a balanced critique of the cast's performances, with standout praise for certain actors:
Jasmine Amy Rogers (Betty Boop): Described as "sensational" and "a star making role," Rogers delivers a heartfelt and nuanced portrayal of Betty Boop. Her performance, characterized by emotional vulnerability and vocal prowess, elevates the character beyond mere caricature (30:20). Mickey-Jo is moved by Rogers' ability to infuse humanity into Betty, stating, "she spends so much of the show with a tear in her eye" and commending her for making Betty both endearing and relatable.
Philip Huber (Pudgy the Dog): The puppeteer behind Pudgy receives exceptional praise for bringing the animated dog to life with "so much character" and "dexterity". Mickey-Jo humorously suggests, "I would unironically give him a Tony Award nomination" for his impressive work (25:00).
Supporting Cast: Stephen DeRosa as Grampy and Faith Prince as Valentina are noted for their exaggerated and whimsical portrayals, though Mickey-Jo feels that Prince's role lacks substantial purpose within the narrative. Similarly, Eric Bergen and Ainsley Mellon are acknowledged for their talents, with Mellon’s character development deemed somewhat convoluted (35:45; 38:10).
Angelica Hale: Making her Broadway debut, 17-year-old Hale is highlighted as a "brilliant young actress" with a distinctive vocal tone, though her character’s role is critiqued for lack of clarity and depth (40:00).
Musical Score and Lyrics
The musical’s score, composed by Grammy-winning David Foster in collaboration with lyricist Susan Birkenhead, is praised for its "jazzy" and "Jazz Age" feel, aligning perfectly with Betty Boop’s timeless aesthetic. The song "Where I Want to Be" is singled out as a standout piece, embodying the character's internal struggles and aspirations (25:30).
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Mickey-Jo concludes his review with a candid assessment, acknowledging the production's entertainment value while reiterating the need for a stronger narrative foundation. He remarks, "there is certainly fun to be had at Boop," but emphasizes that the musical would benefit from a more robust storyline that fully explores Betty Boop's legacy and agency.
Despite his criticisms, Mickey-Jo encourages listeners to experience the show, particularly to witness Jasmine Amy Rogers' captivating performance and enjoy the visual spectacle. He remains hopeful for future iterations of a Betty Boop musical that may better harness the character's potential as a symbol of empowerment and depth.
Notable Quotes:
Mickey-Jo (@00:00): "A musical ought to have, at the bare minimum, two things, a great story and great songs."
Mickey-Jo (@30:20): "She spends so much of the show with a tear in her eye," referring to Jasmine Amy Rogers' portrayal of Betty Boop.
Mickey-Jo (@25:00): "I would unironically give him a Tony Award nomination for best featured actor in a musical" about Philip Huber's puppeteering of Pudgy.
Final Remarks
Mickey-Jo invites listeners to share their thoughts on "Boop! The Musical" and stay tuned for more reviews of current Broadway and West End productions. He hints at upcoming content related to Tony nominations and encourages engagement through comments and subscriptions.
Listeners seeking a visually engaging and performance-driven experience might find "Boop! The Musical" worthwhile, especially for its technical achievements and standout performances. However, those desiring a deeply resonant narrative may find the production lacking in that regard.
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