BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical has announced the complete cast for its pre-Broadway world premiere. The new musical will play a five-week engagement beginning November 19 at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago.
Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, La Cages aux Folles, Hairspray) will direct and choreograph 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).
As previously reported, Jasmine Amy Rogers (Mean Girls) will star in the title role. Joining Rogers will be Tony winner Faith Prince (Guys and Dolls) as Valentina, Ainsley 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.
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).
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 & 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 for the Chicago premiere are now on sale by visiting BroadwayInChicago.com.
