“Boop!” Sparked Joy That Won’t Be Forgotten

(Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

by Chris Peterson

Well, this one hurts.

The news broke this week that Boop! The Betty Boop Musical will play its final performance on July 13, after 112 regular performances and 25 previews at the Broadhurst Theatre. That’s three short months of Broadway joy before the curtain comes down for good.

And I mean it when I say joy. Because Boop! was exactly that: joyful. Irresistibly, unapologetically, infectiously joyful. The kind of show that reminds you why you fell in love with theatre in the first place. Not because it reinvented the form or had something dark and brooding to say about the human condition—but because it made you feel good. It left you buzzing. And honestly, in a Broadway season that’s been dominated by heavy themes and mixed box office returns, that should’ve counted for a lot more.

I gave Boop! my personal award this year for "Most Fun Night at the Theatre"—a title I don’t throw around lightly. It joins last year’s Heart of Rock and Roll in that rare category of shows that just knew how to have a good time and bring the audience along with it. You didn’t sit back and analyze Boop. You sat forward and smiled through 90% of it. It sparkled. It winked. It shimmied. And it was never trying to be anything other than what it was: pure, high-energy entertainment.

At the heart of it all was Jasmine Amy Rogers, who turned in one of the most exciting Broadway debuts in recent memory. If you saw it, you already know: she was a star. Not a star in the making—a full-blown, get-this-woman-a-Tony-nomination-right-now star. Rogers brought Betty Boop to life with wide-eyed charm, perfect comedic timing, knockout vocals, and the kind of commanding stage presence that can’t be taught. She carried the show with ease and heart, and felt like she was having the time of her life doing it. Watching her was watching someone arrive.

And while the spotlight was on Jasmine, she wasn’t alone in delivering the fun. Jerry Mitchell’s direction and choreography turned the stage into a dazzling playground of tap numbers and cartoon magic. The design team—David Rockwell, Gregg Barnes, Philip S. Rosenberg, Finn Ross—created a look that was both nostalgic and forward-thinking, channeling the 1930s source material through a glittering, neon dreamworld lens. It was all delicious to look at. Time Out described it as “a candy shop of a show,” and they weren’t wrong.

Sure, there were things to critique. But honestly? None of that mattered when you were in the middle of it. The vibe was too good. The cast was too strong. And the audience was too busy having fun to nitpick the plot.

And maybe that’s the problem. Broadway Business often doesn’t know what to do with shows like Boop!—shows that are light on message and heavy on fun. There’s a tendency to overlook “entertaining” as a meaningful achievement, like it’s somehow lesser than something serious. But here’s the thing: entertaining people is hard. Creating a show that makes people leave the theatre grinning, humming, and already texting friends to go see it? That’s not easy. And the show pulled that off night after night.

The sad truth is, Boop! was yet another casualty in a tough Broadway climate. The show didn’t get much love from the Tony nominators—something that still baffles me—and without major awards attention or a big-name producer behind it, it became one more original musical(granted, with a known IP) that couldn’t find enough of an audience fast enough.

But that doesn’t mean it failed.

Boop! was a success in all the ways that matter. It launched a brilliant new talent in Jasmine Amy Rogers. It gave audiences a chance to laugh, cheer, and tap their feet. It brought Betty Boop to a new generation, not as a cartoon relic, but as a vibrant, modern heroine who sings and dances and stands up for herself. It was stylish. It was bold. And it was full of heart.

So yes, I’m sad it’s closing. Heartbroken, really. Because the Broadway landscape is better when it makes space for shows like this. For shows that surprise you with joy. That give you the kind of night you want to relive again and again.

But I’m also grateful. Grateful I got to see it. Grateful I got to tell others about it. And grateful that, even in a short run, Boop! The Musical did what it came to do: it boop-oop-a-dooped its way into our hearts.

And for me? That’s more than enough.