BOOP! The Musical celebrated opening night at the Broadhurst Theatre April 5, and a rainstorm couldn't dampen the jovial mood on the red carpet! See actors Jasmine Amy Rogers, Ainsley Melham, Faith Prince, and Erich Bergen; director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell; composer David Foster; and even little Pudgy the [puppet] dog mark the special night in the video above and the photo gallery below. (Though the show had an opening night celebration Saturday, reviews will not be released until the evening of April 7.)
Rogers leads the company in the title role, opposite Tony winner Prince as Valentina, Melham as Dwayne, Bergen as Raymond Demarest, Stephen DeRosa as Grampy, Anastacia McCleskey as Carol Evans, Angelica Hale as Trisha, puppeteer Phillip Huber as Pudgy the Dog, and Aubie Merrylees as Oscar Delacorte.
Joining them are Lawrence Alexander, Colin Bradbury, Tristen Buettel, Joshua Michael Burrage, Victoria Byrd, Dan Castiglione, Rebecca Corrigan, RJ Higton, Nina Lafarga, Morgan McGhee, Ryah Nixon, Christian Probst, Ricky Schroeder, Gabriella Sorrentino, Derek Jordan Taylor, and Lizzy Tucker. Swings Courtney Arango, Ian Gallagher Fitzgerald, Amy Van Norstrand, Damani Van Rensalier, and David Wright Jr. round out the company. Casting is by Tara Rubin and Kevin Metzger-Timson.
The show follows Betty as her dream of an ordinary day off from being a 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." The work features a book by Bob Martin, music by Foster, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead.
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.
READ: How the Boop! Team Took the Retro Betty Boop Cartoon and Created an Original, Modern Musical
The creative team also includes scenic 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, illusion designer Skylar Fox, marionette designer The Huber Marionettes, music supervisor and arranger Daryl Waters, music director Rick Fox, orchestrator Doug Besterman, and dance music arranger Zane Mark. Broadway vets Rachelle Rak and Jon Rua serve as associate choreographers, with DB Bonds as associate director.
Visit BoopTheMusical.com for tickets.
