Review | Boop!
Attending the April 30, 2025 matinee of Boop! The Musical on Broadway was a delightful yet puzzling experience. This new show brings Betty Boop, the iconic 1930s cartoon flapper, to life on stage in vibrant color. It delivers plenty of high-energy fun, with an incredibly talented cast and splashy song and dance numbers. At the same time, I left the theater wondering about the story (or lack thereof) and asking myself who exactly was clamoring for a Betty Boop musical in 2025. In short, Boop! offers lots of dazzle and joy, but struggles to justify its own purpose.
Talented Cast Led by a Standout Star
The performers in Boop! are universally strong, elevating the material with sheer talent. In the title role, Jasmine Amy Rogers is a revelation. She captures Betty’s baby-voiced, wide-eyed charm and then blows the roof off the theater with her powerhouse singing. It is a spectacular Broadway debut that had me and the rest of the audience enthralled. Rogers brings genuine warmth and star quality to Betty, almost literally painting the town red with her bright, bubbly presence. The supporting cast is equally top-notch, from Stephen DeRosa’s hilarious turn as Betty’s eccentric inventor Grampy to Broadway veteran Faith Prince lending her formidable voice and comic chops as a lovelorn scientist. Every ensemble member commits fully. Their energy and chemistry shine in every scene. I found myself admiring the performers across the board, especially Rogers, who many agree is the main reason the show is so much fun.
High-Energy Choreography and Classic Broadway Flair
Jerry Mitchell’s direction and choreography are a high point of the production. The dance numbers burst with classic Broadway flair, often stopping the show with pure joy. From the very first scene, we are treated to a big tap-dance extravaganza that comes out of nowhere but absolutely delights with its precision and pizazz. The show is not shy about embracing old-school musical style. At one moment the ensemble dons top hat and tails for a tap routine straight out of the golden age. Every large production number is staged with splashy, high-stepping choreography and kaleidoscopic costumes. The tap sequences in particular had my feet tapping along. They are terrific, expertly executed, and full of energy. It is clear why the choreography earned acclaim, as these numbers inject Boop! with an infectious sense of fun. The visual design is equally vibrant, cleverly contrasting Betty’s black and white cartoon origins with the colorful modern world on stage. Between the glitzy costumes, lively orchestra, and confetti canons of the finale, the show delivers the spectacle and nostalgia it promises. In those moments, I was grinning ear to ear, enjoying Boop! purely as a flashy, escapist romp.
An Unfocused Story and Questionable Premise
Where Boop! falters is in its story. The plot is, to put it mildly, all over the place. After the charming setup of Betty escaping her cartoon life for modern-day New York, the musical throws in everything: time travel contraptions, a Comic Con scene, a corrupt mayoral election, an orphaned teen sidekick, a puppet dog (that serves no purpose other than to be cute), and two different love stories. It is as if the writers piled on every whimsical idea they had, resulting in a narrative that feels scattered and incoherent. Much of the action comes off as merely an excuse to go from one song or gag to the next. By the second act, the show starts to feel diffused and unfocused, with so many subplots that I struggled to care about any of them. Because the script never digs deep into one storyline, there is little emotional payoff. Even Betty’s own journey, trying to discover who she really is outside of her celebrity cartoon life, remains shallow. The central question the show poses—who is Betty Boop, really—never gets answered in a satisfying way, so I never felt truly invested in her personal growth or anyone else’s. I also kept wondering why this musical exists at all. Betty Boop is a cute character, but unlike an Elsa or a Simba, she does not come with a built-in heartfelt story. The show has to invent one from scratch, and it shows. In the end, the narrative does not convince us that this was a story that needed to be told. The premise ultimately comes across as flimsy, almost like a nostalgic branding exercise rather than a compelling tale. Who was asking for a Betty Boop musical I am not sure, and the show does not quite make the case for itself.
Conclusion: Fun Without Much Feeling
Despite its narrative shortcomings, I have to admit Boop! was fun in the moment. I enjoyed the high-octane dance numbers and the often silly, sugar-rush humor. The overall tone is relentlessly upbeat and good-natured, and there is an old-fashioned innocence to the whole enterprise that is hard to dislike. For all its ramshackle flaws, the show has a joyously irresistible quality that can sweep you up if you let it. I walked out humming one of the peppy tunes and appreciating the cast’s tremendous effort. However, I also left unfulfilled by the story. Boop! The Musical succeeds as lighthearted spectacle. It is a vivid cartoon come to life with triple-threat performers and toe-tapping choreography. But it does not resonate beyond that. It is a candy-colored joyride that made me smile, yet it failed to make me feel. If you are looking for deep storytelling or emotional substance, Boop’s thin plot will likely fall flat for you. But if you go in expecting a lively, escapist Broadway outing and not much more, you will find yourself boop oop a dooping out of the theater in a great mood. In the end, I am glad I saw this talented company in action, even if I am still not entirely sure why Betty Boop had to hit Broadway. Boop! may not have answered that question for me, but it sure gave me plenty of razzle dazzle along the way.
I did not buy a magnet.
