‘BOOP!’: Jasmine Amy Rogers. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

BOOP! THE MUSICAL
Based on characters created by Max Fleischer
Book by Bob Martin
Music by David Foster
Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead
Directed & choreographed by Jerry Mitchell
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44^th Street
https://boopthemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The iconic cartoon character Betty Boop was created by Max Fleischer in 1930. Now, the creative team of book writer Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), composer David Foster, lyricist Susan Birkenhead and the always-brilliant director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell have brought everyone’s favorite animated Jazz Age flapper to vivid life in Boop! The Musical. Betty Boop’s heyday was the 1930s, a time when her black-and-white cartoons brought levity and escapism to people during the Great Depression. Now, in 2025, she’s live, in color and being portrayed by the effervescent “triple threat” Jasmine Amy Rogers—one of the most exciting newcomers to hit the Broadway stage in ages.

A tonic for troubled times

I heard mixed things about the show before seeing it. One friend who caught an early preview said he loved it, while another said it “wasn’t my cup of tea.” Another friend told me she thinks it’s the “type of show America needs right now,” with the unstable economy, a volatile stock market and a tense, divided political temperature nationwide. I agree with the latter sentiment because Boop! Is certainly a tonic for troubled times.

Time machine nonstop to NYC

The musical opens as Betty fantasizes about leaving her make-believe comic world, one in which she is a superstar and faces all the trappings and downsides of fame. She mostly lives with her dog Pudgy (portrayed onstage with a clever marionette controlled by artist Philip Huber). With the help of Grampy (Stephen DeRosa) and his time machine, she’s transported nonstop to 2025 New York City, in living color. She soon experiences everything the modern-day city has to offer, from music to romance.

She is immediately beamed to the Comic Con convention in Manhattan. Here, she meets young Trisha (Angelica Hale), an adorable Betty Boop fangirl. The fan introduces Betty to the charming, handsome Dwayne (Ainsley Melham), an aspiring jazz musician. Dwayne takes care of Trisha and works for her busy aunt, Carol Evans (Anastacia McCleskey). Her aunt works for an unscrupulous mayoral candidate, Raymond Demarest (Erich Bergen).

Lighthearted & a delightful diversion

The ensuing plot is silly and full of color characters, including Valentina (Faith Prince), an astrophysicist who wears a lot of funky outfits and has romantic designs on Gramps. Most of the story line is lighthearted fluff, an excuse to showcase lavish production numbers featuring Jerry Mitchell’s visually appealing choreography, David Rockwell’s gorgeous scenic design and whimsical, outrageous costumes by Gregg Barnes. Lighting designer Philip S. Rosenberg adds more optical treats with glittering projections, lights and digital confetti that bathe the cast and the stage in multiple colors.

Book writer Bob Martin has created Betty as a feminist heroine—perhaps to add a touch of 21^st century verisimilitude—but don’t go searching for any profound meaning or message here. Yes, the show makes some important statements about sexual harassment and the dark side of city politics, but Boop! is hardly an intellectual musical. I don’t think it’s intended to be anything but a delightful diversion to make theatergoers forget their troubles and watch a glitzy spectacle. Isn’t that the main purpose of any Broadway musical?

Score, lyrics & cast

Composer David Foster (with 16 Grammy Awards, one Emmy, one Golden Globe and three Oscar nominations) and lyricist Susan Birkenheard (Jelly’s Last Jam) pack the score with such peppy songs as “Ordinary Day” and “Where I Wanna Be” to “Where is Betty?” and “Something to Shout About.”

Although not all the songs are memorable, the gifted cast does a superb job in nearly all production numbers. Let’s start with the supporting characters first.

Seeing Broadway veteran Faith Prince back on the New York stage is a treat, and long overdue. She gives everything she’s got to Valentina, the astrophysicist who dabbles in vaudeville. Her zest and witty spirit add much humor to the character. Her love interest Gramps is splendidly portrayed by Stephen DeRosa and the two are lots of fun on their duet “Whatever It Takes.”

Broadway newcomer Angelica Hale is sweet and engaging as Trisha. Anastacia McCleskey is equally compelling as Trisha’s aunt Carol Evans and the campaign manager for the unsavory mayoral candidate Raymond Demarest (played by the marvelous Erich Bergen, who seems to be having a blast playing the despicable character).

Aubie Merrylees is a hoot as Oscar Delacorte, Betty’s director in the cartoon world, while Ainsley Melham plays the perfect heartthrob as Dwayne, Betty’s love interest. Kudos also go out to Phillip Huber, the marionette artist who brings Betty’s pooch, Pudgy, to life.

Jasmine Amy Rogers & Jerry Mitchell

Boop! may not have been as enjoyable without a star like Jasmine Amy Rogers. She is the consummate Betty with her infectious energy, great vocals, and a nice combination of spunk and vulnerability. Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell has created his best, most colorful musical since Kinky Boots. Boop! is not a perfect show, but it’s a family-friendly gem and one of the most enjoyable musical comedies on Broadway this season.

Published April 20, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on April 10, 2025

‘BOOP!’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: Jasmine Amy Rogers & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’ Angelica Hale & Jasmine Amy Rogers. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: Stephen DeRosa, Jasmine Amy Rogers & Phillip Huber (marionette artist for Pudgy). Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: (Photo, left) Anastacia McCleskey & Erich Bergen. (Photo, right): Stephen DeRosa & Faith Prince. Photos: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘BOOP!’: Ainsley Melham & Jasmine Amy Rogers. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL’: Andy Karl & Samantha Barks. Photo: Matthew Murphy

PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL
Book by Garry Marshall & J.F. Lawton
Music & lyrics by Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance
Directed & choreographed by Jerry Mitchell
Nederlander Theatre
208 West 41st Street
(877) 250-2929
www.PrettyWomanTheMusical.com

By Scott Harrah

The musical stage adaptations of Kinky Boots and Pretty Woman were both directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Kinky Boots was originally a British indie movie turned into a spectacular Tony Award-winning musical, thanks mostly to Cyndi Lauper’s delightful score. Pretty Woman was a mega-hit Hollywood movie starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and has now been turned into a colorful, entertaining but otherwise middling rom-com musical that will thrill fans of the film.

The book by the late Garry Marshall and original screenwriter J.F. Lawton is really the old Cinderella story with a twist; this time it’s the prostitute that meets the millionaire. The musical isn’t advanced any further by Bryan Adams’ pleasant yet forgettable power-pop score, so it is difficult for Mr. Mitchell to infuse any real imagination and 21st century sensibility into the narrative when the book is still stuck in 1990 (the year the film was originally released).

What does work here is the delightful Samantha Barks as Vivian Ward, the pretty woman and Andy Karl as millionaire Edward Lewis. Ms. Barks makes an impressive Broadway debut with her spunky charm and a beautiful, soaring singing voice. Mr. Karl is superb as usual in an undemanding role. They have chemistry and they elevate the material to a reasonably enjoyable evening.

You probably already know the story: Hooker with a heart of gold Vivian (Ms. Barks) meets up with rich businessman Edward (Mr. Karl) on the street, he takes her to the posh Beverly Wilshire Hotel and she stays for much longer than just an hour or night. He falls for her and much of what’s in the movie is depicted here, such as the iconic scene in which she goes shopping on Rodeo Drive and snooty salesladies refuse to wait on her.

The songs by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, such as the opener “Welcome to Hollywood” and Vivian’s “Anywhere but Here,” are certainly ebullient, and Ms. Barks stops the show in Act II’s “I Can’t Go Back.” Mr. Mitchell’s trademark bouncy choreography is high-spirited in all the right places. However, as much fun as the show is, it’s also derivative at times. Case in point: The opening number of Act II “Welcome to Our World (More Champagne)” seems lifted straight out of the famous My Fair Lady number “The Ascot Gavotte,” but instead of dukes, earls and peers at the posh English horse race, we have catty Hollywood wives, society matrons and corporate tycoons all dolled up in Gregg Barnes’ lavish costumes, ready for a charity polo match in the California sun.

Pretty Woman mostly delivers the glamorous goods as a musical stage adaptation, with David Rockwell’s eye-catching sets. In addition to Ms. Barks and Mr. Karl, there are some fine performances from the cast, particularly Tony nominee Orfeh (for Legally Blonde) as Vivian’s animated, quick-witted friend Kit De Luca. Audiences will have a good time here in comparison to some of the lackluster musicals that opened this summer, but the most glaring flaw of Pretty Woman: The Musical is how anachronistic it is in the “#MeToo” era, when women and gender politics have changed American culture so much, and a fairy tale about a streetwalker meeting her prince just seems out of place in 2018.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published August 24, 2018
Reviewed at August 23, 2018 press performance.

‘PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL’: Andy Karl & Samantha Barks. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘PRETTY WOMAN’: (left to right) Andy Karl, Ezra Knight, Samantha Barks & Robby Crater. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL’: Eric Anderson, Samantha Barks, Andy Karl, Anna Eilinsfeld & company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICIAL”: Orfeh & company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘PRETTY WOMAN; THE MUSICAL’: (left to right) Ellyn Marie Marsh, Eric Anderson, Orfeh & Renee Martino. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe as Gloria Estefan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

ON YOUR FEET!
THE STORY OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN
Featuring music produced & recorded by Gloria & Emilio Estefan
Book by Alexander Dinelaris
Directed by Jerry Mitchell
Choreography by Sergio Trujillo
Marquis Theatre
46th Street (between Broadway & 8th Avenue)
877-250-2929, www.onyourfeetmusical.com

By Scott Harrah

You’ll shake your body and do that “Conga” and yes, the “Rhythm is Gonna Get You.” If you grew up in the 1980s or 1990s listening to the infectious songs of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine and her subsequent solo work, you’ll overlook Alexander (Birdman) Dinelaris’ boilerplate book of this energetic show. Why? Because Gloria and Emilio Estefan have enough golden oldie hits in their songbook to make us disregard the paper-thin storyline of their rise, fall and rise from the Cuban barrios of Miami to international stardom, with all the proverbial bumps in between. On Your Feet! The Story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan is one of the few feel-good Broadway shows in an otherwise lackluster fall season.

Granted, as a jukebox musical, the narrative in On Your Feet! is not as seamless as Jersey Boys or even Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, but it doesn’t matter. Broadway has never mounted a jukebox show with a Latin, salsa-tinged flavor until this, and the Estefans were indeed trailblazers that paved the way for Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Shakira and all the Latin pop crossover stars that followed. When the focus is on music and dancing, the show more than delivers with colorful costumes, Sergio Trujillo’s ebullient choreography, and a full Latin band, complete with all the inimitable Cuban percussion, flawless salsa sounds and a horn section, offering, to borrow an iconic line from “Conga,” “the rhythm of the island/And like sugarcane so sweet.”

Newcomer Ana Villafañe makes a superb debut here since she looks and sounds a lot like the real Gloria Estefan, and Ms. Villafañe shows off fine acting chops in numerous dramatic showdowns with family members. However, Josh Segarra, as her famous husband, looks nothing like the real Emilio Estefan. Mr. Segarra is also not much of a singer, but he is so drop-dead handsome and has such an endearing accent that audiences won’t care. Ms. Estefan’s story, while inspiring, is the typical rags-to-riches tale: Born in Cuba, young Gloria and her family fled to Miami as Fidel Castro rose to power.

Most of Act One deals with young Gloria’s clashes with her overprotective mother Gloria Fajardo, played with spunk by Andréa Burns (In the Heights), and Gloria’s dream of becoming a singer. Her mother does not approve of Gloria making music with Emilio and his Miami Latin Boys (later to become the famous Miami Sound Machine once Gloria became the lead vocalist), particularly since Mrs. Fajardo was performing as a nightclub singer in Havana, but had to put her own dreams on hold as the Batista government crumbled. Grandmother Consuelo (the winning Alma Cuervo) encourages Gloria to pursue her dreams of writing and singing music. Meanwhile, Gloria finishes a college degree in psychology while still performing on the club circuit.

We see Gloria and Emilio become stars in the music world throughout Latin America, but they encounter resistance from the record label when trying to release their first English-language single, “Dr. Beat.” They finally release the song, working hard to get it played on English-language Miami radio stations and in dance clubs across the country, but music industry executives tell them the song is too “dance” for mainstream America. When the group finally releases the Latin-tinged “Conga” (perhaps their biggest hit ever), the rest is history. The Estefans are on their way to superstardom by the end of Act One, leaving everything on a high note as cast members, including a little Jewish Bar Mitzvah boy in a yarmulke, move offstage and pull random audience members into a conga line for “Conga.”

Act Two mostly chronicles the Estefans’ marital struggles as Gloria becomes increasingly exhausted from touring, and fights with her husband and mother. In the winter of 1990, while on a tour bus on a snowy Pennsylvania highway, a horrible accident lands Gloria in the hospital, with a spinal injury and the possibility of paralysis, a nine-hour surgery and months of physical therapy. You already know the rest: Not only did Gloria recover, she went on to become an even bigger star, making a comeback on the American Music Awards, and singing another of her mega hits, “Reach,” at the Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in front of a global audience of millions. She made a hit solo record, reinventing such disco classics as “Turn the Beat Around” and the pop standard “Everlasting Love,” plus did many more sold-out world tours and Las Vegas gigs.

All the Gloria Estefan favorites are here, from “Bad Boys” to “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Words Get in the Way,” “Coming Out of the Dark,” and more. Gloria Estefan has won seven Grammy Awards and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, so she is more than worthy of being a “jukebox heroine.” Cynics may write the show off as another excuse to peddle tried-and-true songs to the masses, but so what? Besides, Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell directs everything nicely with his usual entertaining touches, making On Your Feet! a “Gloria-fied” hit. If you are a Gloria Estefan fan, you must get “On Your Feet!“…and get tickets.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 12, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on November 11, 2015

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The cast of the new musical. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Carlos E. Gonzalez & Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Alexandra Suarez as Little Gloria. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Andréa Burns. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe & Josh Segarra (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The cast of the musical based on the life and music of Gloria & Emilio Estefan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Andréa Burns. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Josh Segarra & Alma Cuervo. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Josh Segarra & Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Josh Segarra & Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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