Jasmine Amy Rogers Is The Life Of The Cartoon Party In ‘Boop! The Musical’ – Deadline Q&A

Jasmine Amy Rogers grew up feeling like a cartoon character. “My voice for a kid my age was a little lower than all the rest of the girls,” she says, “but it was also very, very raspy and also a little squeaky, and so people always used to tell me that I sounded like a cartoon character.”

Who better then to give life to Betty Boop, the intoxicating character that gives Boop! The Musical its name, that classic cartoon Jazz Age flapper with the funny voice and a head big and round enough to convey innocence and sophistication, flirtatiousness and humor. In an era when women were testing norms – and undue modesty was the first to go – Betty was star and a 1930s sensation, with legs for days, a bob as short as her dress and heels impossibly high, a New Modern Woman who proved popular with children and adults alike.

And while her image never completely vanished from pop culture, it’s fair to say la Boop hasn’t been her old ubiquitous self for quite some time. She doesn’t exactly seem a likely candidate for a big budget 21st Century Broadway musical. And if director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell did indeed have a vision for resurrecting the funny little flapper – and he did – how could any one woman embody the characters strange contradictions – sexy and knowing, but childlike and innocent, all wrapped up in one of the craziest and most appealing cartoon figures to emerge from that bizarre and beautifully anti-Disney cartoon factory Fleischer Studios?

With Mitchell’s involvement, a book by Bob Martin, music by David Foster and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, Boop! The Musical had an impressive Broadway pedigree, and a concept: Cartoon Betty is teleported from her black and white film existence of the 1930s to the very real New York of the 21st Century. Mitchell first came up with the idea of a Boop musical more than 20 years ago.

In 2023, he found his Betty.

“Jerry has told me that the reason I got the role is because I was able to bridge that gap between Betty as a cartoon and Betty as a human being,” says Rogers, who makes her Broadway debut in Boop!, “and I think that’s partly because of the way that I’ve just lived my life. I’ve always kind of just been that little girl who was a little cartoonish.”

Even critics who had mixed feelings about the musical seemed to agree on one thing: Jasmine Amy Rogers is delightful, a Boop for our times. On May 1 she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, a category that also includes such Broadway favorites as Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Nicole Scherzinger and Jennifer Simard.

Deadline spoke to Rogers about all things Boop as she and her show get ready for Broadway’s big night on June 8. Mitchell is Tony-nominated for the choreography and Gregg Barnes for the costumes.

Boop! The Musical also stars Faith Prince, Ainsley Melham, Erich Bergen, Stephen DeRosa, Anastacia McCleskey, Angelica Hale, Aubie Merrylees, and Phillip Huber puppeting Pudgy the Dog.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and purpose.

DEADLINE: Tell me how you developed the Betty Boop voice, because it’s not an exact replica of the cartoons, and yet, it’s close enough that there’s no mistaking it. It also sounds kind of modern.

JASMINE AMY ROGERS: I needed to find a way that people could listen to someone speak like that for two and a half hours and have it not drive them insane, and so, what I ended up doing is I, of course, looked back at the original source material, but I decided to bring a lot of my own voice into it. So, there’s a little rasp in there. It’s a little lower than the original, but I wanted to definitely bring Betty to the 21st century in a slight way.

You know, she’s still a cartoon character from the ‘30s, but I just needed her to have that something that made her a little bit more relatable to our modern-day ear. I kind of played with it a little bit, and when I first was trying to figure it out, I was scared even to do it in front of myself, so I just had to do it right there in the room, and it turned out to be exactly what we needed it to be. It’s changed a little over time, to become easier and better placed so it’s not stressful on my voice.

DEADLINE: At what point did you know you’d sort of got it?

ROGERS: I think it was our run in Chicago. Before we got to Chicago, we were doing work in the room here in New York, and I remember there was a day I went to Jerry, and I said to him, is the voice okay? And he said, oh my gosh, it’s perfect. We’d never talked about it beforehand. And the Fleischers also liked the voice. So, it was kind of set from there on, but even through this process here on Broadway I learned how to navigate it even better. It keeps transforming even as we go.

DEADLINE: So, how many times a day do you get people coming up and asking you to do the voice?

ROGERS: I don’t get it that often. I think there’s…some of it might just be respect, but I think people are afraid to ask. So, not too often, but it also is one of those things where doing it in the show feels so specific, that doing it outside of the piece almost feels, like, wrong. It’s very weird.

DEADLINE: When you went into this project, were you worried that people wouldn’t know who Betty Boop is, or that you’d have to explain why she is relevant?

ROGERS: I didn’t feel any pressure in that regard, the proving why it’s relevant, because it was very, very clear to me why it was. I mean, she is a feminist icon figure, and what’s amazing about that is the fact that she’s from the 1930s, but she still upholds a lot of the same ideals that we want. She’s just a woman that wants to do what she wants to do, when she wants to do it, freely, passionately, with love, and with joy. She wants to be who she is. She wants to wear what she wants, say what she wants, do what she wants. So, that aspect, it’s always going to be relevant.

I mean, unfortunately, when it comes to equality in certain aspects, we are still, as women, fighting for those, for full equality, and so we still need a woman like Betty, and she’s transformed over time, because we, as women, have transformed, and that’s the thing, Betty is supposed to represent the modern woman of her time and everything that women are capable of. So, telling that story, I always felt it was modern, but I was nervous bringing her to life and having the people that have known her and loved her for so long feel as if we were doing justice to her, and thankfully, it seems that we are, and I couldn’t ask for anything better.

DEADLINE: I remember when she was a sort of countercultural icon – you’d see her image in headshops and poster shops, that sort of thing.

ROGERS: Yes, the way she looks is iconic. I mean, she’s obviously been a sex symbol for a long time. She’s much more than that, but they were able to capture an appeal that people still love to this day. She’s a celebration of women, and I don’t think it matters what she has on, because, you know, she’s worn so many different things. She’s known for her red dress, her iconic red dress, but we see her drawn in all types of outfits, and she is still so appealing to us.

DEADLINE: Well, she’s funny too. All those Fleischer cartoons were just so weird and clever. Another thing I think is interesting is that the character, though she is considered white, was inspired by a young Black singer of the ‘30s…

ROGERS: Esther Lee Jones.

DEADLINE: Yes. So it’s come full circle in a way. Does it feel that way to you?

ROGERS: It does feel full circle to me, and I’m glad that Esther is getting the recognition that has been missing for her for a while. She was here in the States, and eventually, I think, moved to Europe because of certain things that were going on over here, but yeah, it’s nice that people are getting to hear her name again, and she’s getting credit for the style of performing that she was known for.

DEADLINE: What did it feel like for you, as a Black actor, to be cast in this role?

ROGERS: I definitely had moments where I was like, oh my goodness, I’m getting to play this iconic character and be a Black woman while doing it, and what I love so much about this story is there’s no trauma in it. There’s no negativity. It’s just love, light, joy, positivity, and I get to embody that in my Black body, and we get to show this woman to the world through a lens that, you know…the whole thing about Betty, what makes her so special, is that she can be any woman. Any woman is her. She can do everything.

So, to get to see that through the lens of a Black woman, I think, is really exciting, and I hope it breaks down barriers and continues to, and it feels like it is. So, it’s very, very special, and when I got it, you know, I was a little nervous, because there are people out there who don’t want to see things like that sometimes, and I’ve seen and read things here and there where people aren’t happy about it, but for the most part, people don’t care. People love it, or they honestly aren’t even thinking about it, which is exciting, but they just know that Betty Boop has come to life on stage, and for the people that it is really special that I’m Black, it’s even better for me, because that’s how I feel, too.

DEADLINE: You said she’s always been an icon for women. She’s always been something of a gay icon as well, I think.

ROGERS: Queer people, Black people, people who have been othered, love a freaking icon that way, and we can relate to wanting to be, like, seen in that way, and I love the way that our communities grab onto things like that. I think it’s amazing. She’s so unapologetically herself, and she was so sexy at a time when being sexy was taboo. She represents just everything that we love.

DEADLINE: I saw the video of you getting the standing ovation the first time after the Tony nominations came out. It was so moving. Tell me what it felt like on stage that night.

ROGERS: Oh, my goodness, I was floored. I was sobbing, crying. And they kept clapping. I was just so moved and so honored, and I was so proud of what I’ve done. I don’t always allow myself to feel that pride in that way. I think, you know, I was taught growing up that certain aspects of pride are dangerous, and I believe that they are, but I felt a pride in the work that I had done that I hadn’t felt for myself in a long, long time, or hadn’t allowed myself to feel, and it was glorious. It felt so, so special to just be appreciated for the work that I love to do. You know, I don’t do it for any accolades or anything like that. I just do it because I love it, and it meant the world to me.

DEADLINE: I think I disagree with you. Pride is fine. Go for it. This is your moment.

ROGERS: Thank you!

DEADLINE: So, what are your plans for Tony day?

ROGERS: I have no idea. I just solidified my stylist for the day. Her name is Eliza Yerry, and we worked together on our opening here for Boop, but I think I’m going to have my mother as my date. She’s going to probably read these publications before I say that to her, but I think she’s going to be with me.

DEADLINE: I read somewhere that you said Boop was such a perfect role for you because you have felt like a cartoon character all your life.

ROGERS: I definitely do think I’ve been a cartoon my entire life. I’ve just been a little larger than life, always a little too loud, a little rambunctious and sassy, quick-witted, and just full of energy, and my voice has always been, I guess, interesting to people. Especially when I was younger, my voice for a kid my age was a little lower than all the rest of the girls, but it was also very, very raspy and also a little squeaky, and so, people always used to tell me that I sounded like a cartoon character.

DEADLINE: You think maybe that’s what Jerry Mitchell saw in you during the casting process?

ROGERS: I do think that’s partly what Jerry saw in the audition room, and he says that the reason I got the role is because I was able to bridge that gap between Betty as a cartoon and Betty as a human being, and I think that’s partly because of the way that I’ve just lived my life. I’ve always kind of just been that girl that was just a little cartoonish.

DEADLINE: Well, God bless loud girls, right? I mean, where would we be without loud girls?

ROGERS: Oh, my goodness, I love that!

DEADLINE: Now, the last thing I’ll ask you then is, What does it feel like to nominated with this particular set of actresses, when you see yourself in the same category now as Audra McDonald?

ROGERS: It feels literally insane. It doesn’t feel real. It is the biggest honor of my freaking life, to honestly have been recognized and thought that the work that I’m doing was able to stand next to them in that way. It’s really, really exciting, and it’s very humbling, and I am in love with those women. I have been for so long. I mean, I remember the first time I heard Audra McDonald sing, I was in high school, and I cried. Yeah, so, it’s like this beautiful welcome to the industry. I’m on cloud nine.