The Broadway musical “Boop!” might be closing as soon as the end of June 2025 after failing to secure sufficient audience support to cover its running costs. The show’s attendance is below 85% capacity, while its gross revenue hardly reaching $500,000 dollars. These figures are insufficient to keep the musical running on Broadway. Considering its large cast and high expenses ‘Boop’ is not financially viable.
The musical got denied a performance slot at this year’s Tony Awards broadcast even after they have petitioned to bring ‘Boop’ on stage of the award show. Most likely it happened for several reasons: either the producers couldn’t afford a $300,000 payment to secure the performance slot, or due to insufficient number of signatures on the fans’ petition.
Here are some possible reasons why ‘Boop’ has become an box office bomb. Many reviewers and audience reported the plot was predictable, lacked depth, or seemed to serve mainly as a vehicle for individual songs and dance numbers, rather than a driving force for character development or compelling narrative. Some even described it as “cliched and predictable”. Others questioned the purpose of the musical itself, feeling it lacked originality and failed to offer a compelling reason for its existence.
Another reason behind the musical’s failure at the box office is being widely discussed on social media, particularly on TikTok. Many Betty Boop fans believe that the lead actress Jasmine Amy Rodgers does not fit the role of the iconic Hollywood cartoon character because of her skin color… They say Betty Boop has never been featured as black on the animated screen; therefore, the lead actress should have been white.
The Boop-Oop-a-Doop influencer Inessa Lee stepped in to stop this interracial argument on TikTok and Instagram. She asked her subscribers to stop speculating about Betty’s skin color: “Could you please stop arguing whether Betty Boop was black or white, because she was Jewish,” – says Inessa in her Instagram post that went viral due to even sharper controversy it has generated.
Betty Boop appeared on the animated screen in 1930 as a white flapper. Created by an Austrian Jewish immigrant Max Fleischer, and inspired by Helen Kane, Betty was Jewish herself. Betty Boop’s father was wearing a kippah in ‘Minnie the Moocher’s’ episode which suggests that Betty was actually Jewish.
Jasmine Amy Rodgers is the only Tony Award nominee who didn’t perform on stage this year. Initially Jasmine failed her audition due to poor choreography skills. Director and choreographer both decided to pass on her, so she had to go through seven rounds of audition to get this role which is unheard of in the entertainment world. Obviously, the final decision to hire Rodgers was based on some other factors rather than her talent and acting skills… But it seems like the initial decision of Jerry Mitchel was right: Jasmine failed to bring success to the musical. After all, Betty Boop fans might be right: the wrong choice of actress could have contributed to musical’s failure…
Angel investors are still throwing money to keep the musical alive, but the box office numbers haven’t been promising since April 2025. Let’s what’s ahead for ‘Boop’ the Musical!
