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New York Post
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Boop! The Musical' announces final Broadway show in latest Tony Awards casualty
Boop-Oop-a-Doop! 'Boop! The Musical,' the Broadway play that opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 5, has announced its final show date after failing to win big at this year's Tony Awards. The show's producers made the closing announcement on Wednesday, with Playbill confirming that the musical's final show will be July 13 after a total of 25 previews and 112 regular performances. 6 'Boop! The Musical' has announced its final show date after failing to win big at this year's Tony Awards. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman 6 Playbill confirmed Wednesday that the musical's final show will be July 13 after a total of 25 previews and 112 regular performances. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman Inspired by the classic Depression-era cartoon character Betty Boop, 'Boop' stars Jasmine Amy Rogers, 26, in the leading role. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the musical follows Rogers' character as she is thrown from her two-dimensional, black-and-white 1930s world to the colorful and vibrant real world of modern-day New York City. But the show, which includes music by David Foster and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, faced tough competition at the 2025 Tonys. 6 Jasmine Amy Rogers, who played Betty Boop in 'Boop! The Musical,' was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical at the 2025 Tony Awards. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman Although Rogers was nominated for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and Mitchell was nominated for Best Choreography, the production failed to win either category. This marks the fourth play to take a final bow, drop the curtain and shutter its theater doors for good after losing at the Tonys earlier this month. 'Smash,' which was nominated for Best Choreography and Best Featured Actor, performed its final show on June 22 after 32 previews and only 84 regular performances. 6 'Boop! The Musical' also failed to win a Tony for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design of a Musical. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman 'Real Women Have Curves' and 'Dead Outlaw' have also announced their final shows after losing out at the Tonys. Both plays will conclude their Broadway runs on June 29. The news that 'Boop' is closing after just three months of regular performances also comes after some behind-the-scenes drama at Broadway's biggest awards show. 6 'Smash' was the first Broadway play to announce it was closing after losing at the 2025 Tony Awards. Matthew Murphy Both 'Boop' and 'Smash' were left out in the cold when the award show's producers refused to let either musical perform during the three-hour CBS broadcast on June 8, even after both productions offered to pay the $300K appearance fee. 'It's bizarre,' one Broadway producer exclusively told the Post as the drama unfolded. Still, 'Boop' received some positive reviews despite its Tony troubles. 6 'Boop' received some positive reviews even despite its troubles at the Tonys. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman The Post's theater critic, Johnny Oleksinski, celebrated Rogers' performance as a live-action Betty Boop – even if he did admit that the production faced certain challenges. 'The show's biggest challenge exists off-stage: Making Betty Boop a draw 95 years after she debuted,' Oleksinski wrote in his three-star review. 'At this point, the icon isn't really nostalgic to anyone or at the top of anybody's mind.' He added, 'Whatever you may feel about the big-eyed flapper, the attraction today is not the title, but Rogers.'
New York Post
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
'Boop,' 'Smash,' fuming Tony Awards 2025 won't let them perform
Usually, the week before the Tony Awards is a joyful time to celebrate the wonderful work of the Broadway season. Not this year! Two big shows were fuming Tuesday that they're being left out of the Tony Awards broadcast on CBS Sunday night: 'Boop! The Betty Boop Musical' and 'Smash.' 5 'Smash,' starring Robyn Hurder, was one Broadway show that the Tony Awards is not letting perform on Sunday night's broadcast. Matthew Murphy The Post can confirm that both productions asked to perform, were willing to pay the $300,000 or so that an appearance costs and were told 'Nope!' by the Tonys' producers. Of course, there is no guarantee any show that was not nominated for Best Musical or Best Musical Revival will get to sing and hoof on the telecast. Neither 'Smash' nor 'Boop!' are in contention for the big kahuna. However, the same is true of two productions that will get highly valuable minutes onstage at Radio City Music Hall: 'Just in Time,' the sold-out Bobby Darin dazzler starring Jonathan Groff, and the struggling 'Real Women Have Curves.' 'It's bizarre,' said one Broadway producer. And it's a pretty catty move. And I'm not talking about Mr. Mistoffelees. Only three currently running musicals were given the brush by the televised ceremony: 'Boop!,' 'Real Women' and 'The Last Five Years' starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren. 'Last Five Years' got squat on nominations morning, so they don't have a case for crooning Jason Robert Brown's mopey songs. 5 Despite receiving four nominations, 'Boop!' is not performing on the Tonys, while 'Real Women Have Curves,' with two, is. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman But what's weird is that 'Boop!,' with four nominations — including Best Actress in a Musical for its incredible breakout star Jasmine Amy Rogers — has more nods than 'Real Women,' which notched just two. And yet the real women got a slot. The Post has reached out to representatives for the Tonys for an explanation. At the Broadhurst Theatre, everybody is Boop-ing furious. 'Why wouldn't the Tonys want a highly telegenic number from 'Boop'!?,' said a member of Team 'Boop!.' 5 'Boop!' planned to perform the songs 'Where's Betty?' and 'Something to Shout About.' Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman The show had planned to perform the impressive dance number 'Where's Betty?,' which showcases director Jerry Mitchell's choreography and Gregg Barnes' clever costumes. That would then segue into the 11 O'Clock solo 'Something to Shout About' from Rogers, who's so far won the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actress. She's in a tough Tony race with Nicole Scherzinger ('Sunset Boulevard') and Audra McDonald ('Gypsy'), but I've spoken to plenty of Rogers voters. Considering the Tonys begin at 6:30 p.m. on the app Pluto — which I download once a year like a TV Brigadoon — and continue through 11 p.m. on CBS (four and a half hours!), five minutes would go by quicker than you can say 'Boop!' 5 'Just in Time,' which was not nominated for Best Musical, will perform on the broadcast. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman The slight has given fans something to shout about. 'What's been amazing and eye-opening has been the public response,' a moved 'Boop!' cast member said. 'When the Tonys announced which shows are performing, 90% of the comments were outcries about 'Boop''s glaring omission. In fact, there is a fan-created petition circling around to include Jasmine in some capacity. The petition has over 100 signatures in the first hour!' At time of publication, that petition had secured more than 800 names. 5 The slight is like something out of 'Smash.' Matthew Murphy Over at the Imperial, 'Smash,' the Susan Stroman-directed musical based on the canceled NBC TV series about Broadway backstabbing, has been quieter. But I'm told they also feel like smashing some things. Actually, the Tonys' totally predictable, self-made mess is a plot-line straight outta 'Smash'!
