BETTY BOOP, TIME TRAVELER

When Betty Boop was introduced to the American public in 1930, she quickly became not only the symbol of a Depression-era jazz flapper but also the sex symbol of the animated screen. Today she remains one of the most famous cartoon characters of all time, with a following among collectors of American pop culture. Nearly a century later, Betty is now the subject of a big Broadway show, “Boop! The Musical” that begs the question not so much as why a musical but why the story that’s been written for it?

The concept of “Boop!” holds narrative promise: Betty time-travels from the black and white cartoon world of the 1930s to colorful, modern life of New York City. How Betty might adjust to a society where moral, cultural and political values are beyond what her cartoon world could have dreamed 100 years ago has endless creative possibilities: women’s roles, racial integration, the Iphone, to name the obvious. (Imagine, for example, Betty, who was created during Prohibition, being taken to a cannabis store.) Instead, book writer Bob Martin, whose credits include the sophisticated “The Drowsy Chaperone” and the disappointing “Smash” currently on Broadway, offers up a cartoon plot with an absurd subplot and a predictable romance.

In cartoon land. Grampy (Stephen deRosa), grandfather of Betty Boop (Jasmine Amy Rogers) has secreted away a teleporter that can take one from ToonTown to the real world. Weary of stardom, Betty wonders what anonymity is like so she steals off in the time-machine contraption. She lands in a Comic Con in New York, where she meets an orphaned Trish (Angelica Hale), a Betty Boop enthusiast. Trish’s foster mother Carol (Anastacia McCleskey) is managing the mayoral campaign of the ambitious Raymond Demarest (Erich Bergen), whose big issue is environmentalism. He uses Betty and her popularity to bolster his campaign. Jazz singer Betty meets sexy Dwayne (Ainsley Melham), who coincidentally is a jazz musician. Dwayne, Betty and Trish explore the big city together. Trying to find Betty, Grampy time-travels from ToonTown to New York and reunites with an old flame, Valentina (Faith Prince), an astrophysicist at NASA, who becomes good friends with Betty. All the while, Betty is accompanied by Pudgy the Dog, a marionette (designed by Phillip Huber). What happens in the subplot of the politician is out of nowhere; what happens between Betty and Dwayne is no surprise.

At best, Betty Boop’s story in “Boop!” is a dim twist of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. The eye-popping scenic design by David Rockwell, stunningly enforces the Oz visual theme (think b&w Kansas and Land of Oz). All the ToonTown scenes - in every detail from props to costumes - are in black and white and gray tones, conveying the texture of b&w cartoons of the Thirties. In contrast, New York is presented in uber-Technicolor.

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But “Boop!”’s book is so baseless that, despite its visual style, the show seems to be an occasion to stage one big, show-biz production number after another. A bouncy, pop/show tune score and strong song-and-dance performances provide the entertainment quotient. .

It’s the first Broadway score for multi-Grammy winner David Foster, with 19 musical numbers, nearly half of which involve the whole company. His music is infectious; it’s refreshing to leave a theater with a humble tune. Jasmine Amy Rogers' Broadway debut in the title role is impressive. Veteran Broadway musical comedy actor and Tony winner Faith Prince plays Valentina with a seen-it-all-done-it-all elan. Her duet with fellow stage veteran deRosa, “Take it to the Next Level” is perfectly charming.

Kudos go to director Jerry Mitchell who, with “Boop!”, preserves his rank among the best at directing musical comedy. With Tonys for “Kinky Boots” and the revival of “La Cage aux Folles” - among more than 50 Broadway shows in 35 years - he’s the undisputed master of taking whatever story you’ve got to work with and make it work. The second act is vastly better than the first; the show finally concludes with an especially strong rousing finale, “Color of Love”. Boop-Oop-A-Doop!