‘Boop! The Musical’ star Jasmine Amy Rogers uses her own ‘quirky little eccentricities’ to bring iconic cartoon character to life
“It really feels like she's such a big part of me,” says Jasmine Amy Rogers of her character Betty Boop in the new Broadway tuner Boop! The Musical, “so it doesn't feel like I'm putting on this second skin. It feels like I'm bringing out a part of myself.” Rogers is making her Broadway debut in the bubbly new musical, adopting the infamous big eyes and short curled coiffure of the flapper cartoon. Costumes and wigs aided the actress, but Rogers watched countless Betty Boop shorts to find a way to translate the character’s mannerisms and attitude onto her own body. Rogers’ favorite short sees Betty clipping her toenails with a giant pair of scissors, too focused on the arduous task to pay attention to incessant knocking at the door. “She’s so quirky,” the actress tells Gold Derby in an exclusive new interview (watch above), “the little face she's making and the way she's just being so weird. It's so much fun for me. And that weirdness is where I really bring myself to it. I think the quirky little eccentricities of myself come in handy.”
Of course, Betty Boop is also defined by her signature high-pitched squeal. Rogers not only had to figure out the proper placement of this voice, but discover a way to make it sustainable for eight shows a week. “All these songs, they sit in a higher register for me personally, but that's honestly helped with the voice,” she describes. “I just lift everything up into the soft palate and just fill it with air. And it makes a soft cushiony place where I'm not straining to make the noise.”
One of those songs, which sends the audience to their feet each night, is “Where I Wanna Be.” It’s an infectious Act 1 closer from composer David Foster and lyricist Susan Birkenhead. After feeling like something is missing from her life, Betty storms the stage of a jazz club with a giddy declaration of contentment. “I have to make sure I know where I'm starting and I know where I'm ending for sure,” admits Rogers, who must execute Jerry Mitchell’s high energy choreography while the song builds to a glorious crescendo. “It's just about having a good time and the song naturally builds in such a good way,” she explains, “as long as I'm just feeling the energy from the ensemble around me and staying connected to the ground and the music, it just kind of happens. It's so much fun and it is so exciting to hear the audience get excited at the very end when there's the reveal.”
"Where I Wanna Be" is an apt description of Rogers' first appearance on the rialto. Few actors can say they made their Broadway debut at the age of 26 while leading a major new musical. The moment is certainly not lost on the actress. She confesses to being “awestruck” when the team first performed Boop! on a Broadway stage. “It felt like the most beautiful homecoming in a way, even though it was my first time,” says Rogers, “it just felt so welcoming and so amazing, and every night it just feels so magical to think I'm where I've dreamt of being since I was a little girl singing Wicked in my bedroom. There's nothing like it.”