BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical - Pre-Broadway Chicago- Page 5

[BETTY22]

Posted: 11/7/23 at 8:36pm

This looks great fun. I think Jerry is the perfect director for this show - he certainly knows how to stage an exciting number. 

 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 11/8/23 at 3:53pm

HenryTDobson said: "Really fun performance, very Jerry Mitchell. I'm getting serious Some Like It Hot vibes so maybe for the best for the Boop team that that will be closing on Broadway in the meantime."

That's exactly what I was thinking. This could capture that same old-school classical Broadway feel that lots of people love about SLIH.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/8/23 at 6:15pm

I don't dislike the song but definitely interested in hearing more.

Here's the title page, for those interested. A few things that caught my eye:

- we can expect marionettes and illusions
- the music team includes orchestrations by Doug Besterman (an expert at the oldschool Bway sound), and music arrangements by Foster, Zane Mark, Daryl Waters (music supervisor), and Andrew Resnick (music director).
- A lot of new-to-Broadway names on that producing team. Looks like David's manager, Marc Johnston, is lead-producing, with the top line also including Bill Haber/Ostar, a bridge loan company, a costume company, and a Nashville record label. Shubert & Nederlander among the co-producers.

Updated On: 11/8/23 at 06:15 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/8/23 at 9:02pm

I'll be at the first preview in Chicago, can't wait! 

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 11/9/23 at 6:01am

Here’s Jasmine Amy Rogers performing “Where I Wanna Be” and “Something to Shout About” (apologies if already posted - the other performance link wouldn’t work for me so not sure what performance it was!)

From the “Where I Wanna Be” vid, which is a really fun catchy song, Jasmine seems to be perfect for Betty! Great voice and seems to have a lot of on stage charisma for the role. 

Hoping this will make it to Broadway - love a bit of old school jazz hands, and there’s room for it worth SLIH ending.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzY5P5UO2xt/?igshid=YjVjNjZkNmFjNg==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzZYwXvOQci/?igshid=YjVjNjZkNmFjNg==

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/9/23 at 3:14pm

Over heard at Harmony last night when running into industry folk that Boop has the Shubert

[Globefan]

Posted: 11/9/23 at 6:05pm

Robbie2 said: "Over heard at Harmony last night when running into industry folk that Boop has the Shubert"

Boop has the Shub-oop-a-doop-bert. I couldn't resist. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/11/23 at 1:26pm

Here's a clip of a ballad for Boop. This sounds a little more like the David Foster we know.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzfW_VXrIkh/

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 5:13pm

Interesting piece on the show by Chris Jones in the Chicago Trib, which gives us the most comprehensive plot description I've yet seen for the show. And the team acknowledges the similarities to BARBIE (two works based on fictional ladies developed simultaneously).

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Betty Boop is tired of being a cartoon and with the help of a machine by Professor Grampy (Stephen DeRosa), Betty leaves her black-and-white cartoon world and sneaks off to modern-day NYC for a vacation –– where she goes to the most hospitable place for a cartoon character: Comic Con at the Javits Center! She also finds love.

“One major dance number takes place on the red staircase by the TKTS booth in Duffy Square on the north side of Times Square, where Betty and her love interest, Dwayne (the Australian performer Ainsley Melham), live large in Technicolor New York anonymity, far from their black-and-white world. There’s a so-called B plot, too, a late-in-life romance between Professor Grampy and his modern-day belle Valentina, as played by the longtime Broadway star Faith Prince.”

“If this stranger-in-a-strange-land story, or the idea of a fictional piece of someone’s intellectual property now struggling with life in the real, modern-day world, puts you in mind of “Enchanted,” “Elf” and, most recently, “Barbie,” such comparisons are not being entirely discouraged.”

 

[Globefan]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 5:32pm

The story sounds very interesting 

Updated On: 11/12/23 at 05:32 PM

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 6:15pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Here's a clip of a ballad for Boop. This sounds a little more like the David Foster we know.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzfW_VXrIkh/"

The melody is pretty but those lyrics are atrocious. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 6:24pm

FANtomFollies said: "The melody is pretty but those lyrics are atrocious."


Just realized Kat McPhee has recorded the song in full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWo89D0KBFA

Here's another song, "A Little Versatility," which at one point was the opening number but I don't know if it's still in the show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUVYnWnJwZA Maybe an arranger could turn it into something better?

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 7:53pm

FANtomFollies said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Here's a clip of a ballad for Boop. This sounds a little more like the David Foster we know.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzfW_VXrIkh/"

The melody is pretty but those lyrics are atrocious."

Indeed. Lyricist Susan Birkenhead is not the best in the biz and wondering how she got involved with this and Foster? 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 10:26pm

Robbie2 said: "Indeed. Lyricist Susan Birkenhead is not the best in the biz and wondering how she got involved with this and Foster?"

Foster probably liked her when they met and saw potential there, and IF they were looking for a female lyricist with Broadway cred that's a somewhat limited pool. I remember her Theater Talk appearances being insightful and some of her work has been good over the years.

It's interesting, she's of the generation of Sondheim/David Shire/Mary Rodgers/Jerry Herman –– IBDB says she's 88 –– and has worked with good composers (Jule Styne, Charles Strouse, Mary Rodgers, Henry Krieger), but never quite found that mainstream success.

Updated On: 11/12/23 at 10:26 PM

[Globefan]

Posted: 11/12/23 at 10:32pm

And she's from the era when Betty's cartoons were still being made. 

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 2:47am

I've got nothing to pout about, but Gee Whiz! Sounds like a winner.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 6:57am

Bigger flop, this or Gatsby??

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 9:23am

Well first of all there, have been plenty of hit musicals that don't have great lyrics. There haven't been many that don't have good music. I think the music from Betty Boop that has been released seems accessible and tuneful and could potentially resonate with mainstream audiences.  I guess we will know more this week,

Gatsby doesn't ssem comparitive at all, but I can see a space where Boop could be a suprrise hit. I can't see that space for Gatsby.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 9:52am

ACL2006 said: "Bigger flop, this or Gatsby??"

Well, which GATSBY are you talking about? The one that seems unlikely to move to Broadway in the next 12 months, or the one we haven't seen yet?

If BOOP appeals to female buyers in particular, that can certainly help, as women mostly drive purchasing decisions on Broadway. But the show has to transcend the source material and stand on its own merits. The fact that it's seemingly more contemporary (scenes set in 2023) than something like Some Like It Hot could help.

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 10:12am

This one wasn't on my radar but now I'm a little more intrigued. I'll be curious about the Chicago reports. Picturing some fun black and white into color moments ala City of Angels.  

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 10:25am

The plot sounds like hot garbage, but I'm really excited to see this next week! 

[jagman1062]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 10:48am

WestEndGal said: "Here’s Jasmine Amy Rogers performing “Where I Wanna Be” and “Something to Shout About” (apologies if already posted - the other performance link wouldn’t work for me so not sure what performance it was!)

From the “Where I Wanna Be” vid, which is a really fun catchy song, Jasmine seems to be perfect for Betty! Great voice and seems to have a lot of on stage charisma for the role.

Hoping this will make it to Broadway - love a bit of old school jazz hands, and there’s room for it worth SLIH ending.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzY5P5UO2xt/?igshid=YjVjNjZkNmFjNg==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzZYwXvOQci/?igshid=YjVjNjZkNmFjNg=="

Wow, listening to the clip of "Where I Want to Be" just gave me vibes of Stephanie Mills in The Wiz. I'm excited for this young woman and hope that she really strikes gold in this show!

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 11:15am

Here's a recording studio video of "Where I Wanna Be" as a solo version by Jasmine Amy Rogers. She's so charming.

Musicians weigh in if I'm full of it, but...
A) When she sings "play that E Flat" she's singing a C, and the song is not actually in the cited key of G...right?
B) This sounds like cheap synth accompaniment. Hopefully will sound much better in Chicago with an actual orchestra.

Updated On: 11/13/23 at 11:15 AM

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 12:26pm

Yes, the clip of her in the recording studio is done without the chorus or an actual orchestra. It's clearly just a PR piece.

Updated On: 11/13/23 at 12:26 PM

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 3:41pm

I’m loving the look of this so far. It seems fun, it’s got original songs which are pretty earwormy from what I’ve heard so far, and Jasmine Amy Rogers, who I hadn’t seen perform before, seems like a great choice. She’s got tons of charisma and charm and has a good set of pipes!