'BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical' premieres at Chicago's CIBC Theatre
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Betty Boop has made the transition from an animated cartoon legend dating back to the 1930s to the big stage in 2023.
"BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical" is now playing in Chicago. The show made its pre-Broadway premiere at the CIBC Theatre, formerly the Shubert, at 18 W. Monroe St. Wednesday night.
Present for the premiere were Tony Award-winning director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell ("Kinky Boots," "La Cage aux Folles," "Hairspray"), Grammy Award-winning composer David Foster and his wife, singer-songwriter Katharine McPhee, Tony Award-nominated lyricist Susan Birkenhead ("Working," "Jelly's Last Jam"), and Tony Award-winning book writer Bob Martin ("The Drowsy Chaperone," "The Prom").
Jasmine Amy Rogers – who played Gretchen Wieners in the national tour of "Mean Girls" and Melody Lane in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of "The Wanderer."
According to the website for the show, "BOOP!" tells the story of how Betty Boop's dream of a day off from her black-and-white world where she's a super-celebrity leads to "an extraordinary adventure of color, music, and love in New York City."
Foster co-wrote "After the Love Has Gone" by Earth, Wind and Fire; "I Have Nothing," sung by Whitney Houston the movie "The Bodyguard;" and "The Prayer," performed by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli in "Quest for Camelot" and for their own respective albums. Foster has won more than a dozen Grammys, and decided it was time to take on a Broadway musical.
"This is my first time. I'm a newbie. So I have nothing to compare it to – it's been a great experience; a learning experience," Foster said. "I think if I do do another show, I'll be more equipped than I was to do this show."
"There is an empowerment message for young girls in the story," director/choreographer Mitchell told CBS 2 desk associate Natalie Goldstick. "The show's about love, joy, and finding passion in something that will bring color to your life."
The show runs through Christmas Eve.