AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Betty boop in color12/30/2023 Boop! ensemble | Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.īoop! The Betty Boop Musical plays through December 24 at the CIBC Theatre (18 W. I am confident that, in its four-week stay here in Chicago, Mitchell and his creative team will make the adjustments necessary to make Boop! shine as brightly as its gleaming star. Anyone who has seen one of the many incarnations of The Wizard of Oz (including The Wiz, now onstage down the street from Boop!) knows that the journey from a black-and-white world to color and back again is more than enough story for any show. The show also could benefit from a tightened focus on Betty’s emotional and personal self-discovery. Both Mitchell and Martin need to find more for Miss Prince to do. Cast in an at-best tertiary role to the plot, Prince is trotted out for a song in each act-her considerable talent completely wasted. This subplot is an unnecessary sideshow to Betty’s journey and can-and should-be jettisoned completely.Īnother problem is the criminal underuse of Broadway legend Faith Prince. Director Mitchell and book writer Bob Martin (the mind behind the delightful Drowsy Chaperone) must address the show’s chaotic tangle of a story, which not only brings Betty to the real world, but also involves her in the mayoral run of a corrupt waste management executive. Stephen De Rosa and Jasmine Amy Rogers | Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.īut, these outstanding performances and captivating dance are contained within a show that still needs considerable work-which is what this month-long tryout in Chicago is all about. That voice has only grown in power since her TV debut, and she uses it masterfully here. Hale first reached fame thanks to her second-place finish on “America’s Got Talent,” where she captured hearts due to both her personal story (childhood triumph over a life-threatening illness) and her powerful voice. Combined with the show’s scenic design (courtesy of David Rockwell), which takes us from Betty’s original gray-scale world to the colorful vibrancy of Times Square, Boop! catches and holds the audience’s eye for its two-and-half-plus-hour’s entirety.ġ6-year old Angelica Hale’s performance as Trisha, who first befriends Betty when she arrives in the real New York, is almost as astonishing as Rogers. The audience loves her-and so will Broadway.Īngelica Hale and Jasmine Amy Rogers | Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.Īdding to the show’s luster is director Jerry Mitchell’s choreography, from the fantastic opening number’s tap dance, “A Little Versatility,” evoking the spirit of 42nd Street, to the leaping, balletic athleticism that accompanies Betty’s arrival in the real world. She turns an originally black-and-white two-dimensional cartoon character into a real world supernova, completely and believably inhabiting the lovable title role. A true star-in-the-making, Rogers’ performance: singing… dancing… acting… is complete, captivating perfection. Let’s start with what sparkles: first and foremost the absolute explosion of talent exhibited by the lead: Jasmine Amy Rogers. I’m also talking about the amazing collection of on- and off-stage talent behind this shimmery kaleidoscope of a show. I want to be clear that, when I say “diamond,” I am talking about far more than Boop! star Jasmine Amy Rogers-although she is indeed a precious thing. And, unfortunately, that same sentiment is what to say about Boop! The Betty Boop Musical-Jerry Mitchell’s Broadway-bound big, bouncy musical making a holiday season tryout run at the CIBC Theatre this month. What do you say about a priceless diamond in a shabby setting? That it shines brilliantly, no thanks to what surrounds it-a dull distraction than can, by contrast, sometimes make the jewel’s gleam all the more brilliant.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |