Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Rogers will be a shining new star as Betty Boop in the latest show directed by Jerry Mitchell, the fifth highly polished musical this maestro has opened before Broadway in this city and a modestly scaled, family-oriented show wherein there is a great deal to like, and much more work still to be done, especially in the wildly uneven Act 2."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Under Mitchell’s occasionally frenetic direction, “Boop!” offers a lovingly detailed homage to cartoonist Max Fleischer’s iconic pin-curled, squeaky-voiced creation Betty Boop, as well as one spectacular number after another."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...But it's Rogers' performance that powers this show. As Rogers descended for her solo bow to the thunderous applause of a besotted crowd, Melham cast a knowing nod to the crowd that confirmed what theatergoers had experienced: the birth of a star."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Though song-and-dance numbers that truly never lag, a heartwarming storyline, and fast-paced, lighthearted jokes, Boop! doesn’t miss. Betty, played by the magnetic Jasmine Amy Rogers, is squeaky and fun in all the right ways. She’s got a great high-pitched animated voice, and a beautiful singing voice to boot. Rogers’s Boop is alluring and funny and a little awkward at times, but never too much."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Betty Boop seems an unlikely candidate for revival considering that her fame is almost entirely confined to cartoons animated by Max Fleischer in the 1930s. Although she has gained new fans through merchandising, animated series and film projects on YouTube and DVD have failed to get off the ground. BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical takes advantage of this opening. In fact, it seems ready-made for audiences used to comic adaptations. Do we really need a musical about a cartoon character created nearly a century ago? Of course not! (But then again, did we really need a musical about cats?)"
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Boop symbolizes women's strength, independence, and empowerment and deals with females' inequities. This brand-new music is filled with high energy and is purely entertaining. Rogers turns back the hands of time, making you feel like you were in the 30s watching the real Betty Boop. She was made for this role!"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The CIBC Theatre was festive for the holiday season and the opening of the production that Jerry Mitchell has directed on its stage. Again, “anticipation”. The one buzz I heard a lot of is about the title character. Many audience members knew nothing about this classic cartoon character that started out as a dog and then became a sex symbol. I remember the cartoons and that they were in black and white. We had been told during our press outing that in this production we would see her world change from the black and white cartoon to real people in living color. Through the technical work of Projection designer Finn Ross, we watched it happen."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...That is the transformation that takes place in "BOOP! The Musical," which had its grand-scale world premiere at Chicago's CIBC Theatre on Wednesday night. The show is clearly on its way to Broadway with an absolutely starry performance by Jasmine Amy Rogers, an actress who can sing and dance up a storm in a role that is sure to fly her into the spotlight. Rogers has nailed Boop's inner self to perfection and brings great joy to what is unquestionably an immensely demanding role. A true knockout."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"... All I know is that the production of “Boop!” that opened in Chicago has a whole lot going for it right now. It’s warm, loving, lively and so entertaining. I can just imagine how it will take New York by storm, when the musical eventually opens in the Big Apple. As Betty Boop sings in one of her great, show-stopping numbers, this musical really is “Something to Shout About.”"
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...I remember Betty Boop the cartoon character because she was my mom's favorite female cartoon as the sexy, saucy 1930's flapper who had men chasing her around town in her voluptuous, tight-fitting dresses - and this wonderfully staged musical does a brilliant job in bringing her to life! Jasmine Amy Rogers as Betty Boop is a star on her way to Broadway with her outstanding vocals, solid dancing skills and an air of innocence mixed with womanly wisdom that gives the entire story a warm grounded presence despite the cartoon's previously conceived air head version of her."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...Betty Boop is a cartoon character created by Max Fleischer in the 1930s. She gained fame in her portrayal of a damsel in distress. Although her curly hair, big eyes, short skirt and ample bosom are pretty recognizable, the story behind the animated star is less familiar... until now. The creative team of Bob Martin (book), David Foster (music) and Susan Birkenhead (lyrics) give color and dimension to Betty in this musical tribute. They provide her with an escape from work, a feminist voice and her first real love story."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Recommended
"...Its more modern locutions notwithstanding, BOOP! feels like a musical that could have played very well on the loosey-goosey Broadway of the 1930s, when Betty was front-and-center in pop culture. Being readily familiar, the show could skip over the drudgeries of establishing Boop’s persona, plop her in a zany situation with a cast of new and equally zany supporting characters (who would need filling out), and let the hilarity ensue all around her."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...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. 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."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...I went into opening night of the pre-Broadway tryout of Boop! without any idea what the play would be about. I mean: I knew that Betty Boop was the main character of a series of cartoon shorts in the 30s, but I had never really paid much attention to them and had no clue what this new musical was going to do with her. It turns out that Max Fleishner’s Betty Boop has a whole lot of similarities to Mattel’s Barbie: both are highly sexualized versions of women; despite this, both have become accidental feminist icons, having had more careers than any one person (or in Barbie’s case a stadium full of people) could possibly have; and both, in 2023, found themselves leading musicals that sent them from protected cartoon lives manufactured just for them into the Real World, where things are…very different."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...When the stunning new show “BOOP! The Musical” arrives on Broadway next year, a new generation will discover the iconic Betty Boop through the spellbinding performance of Jasmine Amy Rogers in the title role, and through the eyes of one of their own—16 year-old pop media phenom Angelica Hale, making her stage debut as Betty’s new pint-sized BFF. "
Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended
"...Betty Boop, the wide-eyed, smooth-singing star of animator Max Fleischer’s 1930s black-and-white shorts, is Broadway bound. But the feisty flapper’s Boop! The Musical staged its highly entertaining world premiere at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre Wednesday night."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...I am so pleased that 23-year-old African American Jasmine Amy Rogers (Mean Girls) plays Betty Boop. She is a third-generation fan. Both her grandmother and mother were also Betty Boop fans. She is an exceptional, radiant actress, singer, and dancer. She absolutely looks and owns the part cooing the signature “Boop-oop-a-doop!”"
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"..."Boop!" is a musical that soars in its first act but sags in the second, as the extremely creative production design and its engaging portrayal of two dimensions gives way to a contrived and predictable plot bogged down by a fledgling romance that never convinces. But the choreography is superlative throughout, especially in the first act, with its big, show-stopping ensemble of tap dancers. It's not surprising, since director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell is a two-time Tony winner in the category, for "Kinky Boots" and the revival of "La Cage aux Folles.""
