It's really wild to think that I'm not going to be the same girl that I was before I stepped on the stage.

That first day of marketing, it was a whirlwind.

It was the first time I fully put on the face, the hair, a red dress, and they were just like, okay, be Betty Boop.

And I was like, okay, we haven't.

We haven't, like, you know, done any work yet?

How do I walk?

How do I move my body?

I was like, I felt so like a fish out of water.

It was the first moment where I was like, oh, this is real.

This is real.

I love rehearsals.

I love being around people.

And the cast is so much fun.

And Jerry Mitchell as director is everything to me.

He sees everything in his head and you have no idea what he's seeing.

So you just get to just throw things at the wall, throw things at him, and he's like, yes, no, yes, no.

And so you just get to play.

My first job was with Jerry.

Becoming Nancy in Atlanta, and my mother said, Jerry is going to be the person that brings you to Broadway.

Here I am with Jerry Mitchell on Broadway.

Ahh!

(Giggles) So Boop!

is opening on Broadway.

We start previews next Tuesday, but I'm here at PS161 in New York.

I'm going to meet with these little Cinderellas, and we're here for Saving Our Daughters, the non-profit organization.

The Little Cinderellas is a non-profit organization that works with young women.

Young girls.

Oh my gosh, they're little.

They're girls.

And brings people to them as celebrity godparents.

I feel like a little girl.

I'm so excited.

Jasmine Rogers!

Let's give her a round!

I would really tell you all my biggest advice in life and in any, any career you choose is to just be yourself.

There are so many people in the world, but what's special about all of us is there's nobody is us, no matter like how similar you may see that somebody is or this or that.

There's only one of you.

As you know, I'm not from here.

Local legend.

Like some here.

Yeah, but now that I've come here, it's where I want to be.

(applause) Thank you.

I always wanted to do little things like this when I was younger, growing up.

And to see them be excited about something like that is everything to me.

I'm just me.. Like, they're all so excited.

I feel like I'm a celebrity or something and it's... (giggles) It's like warming my heart.

To be able to give back in that way means a lot to me, because I know how important it is to to see somebody and have somebody to look up to and see somebody that looks like you in the spotlight in a way, because representation matters.

And when little girls see that it's possible, they can dream as big as they want to.

Now I'm going to go to the theater to continue our tech process.

We just got to act two.

And we have one week left before an audience is there.

But I'm really excited.

That'll be a good long, long day.

133.

We are here at the Broadhurst Theatre on 44th Street, and I'm about to go and sit in my dressing room and get nice and warm.

It's very homey in there.

And then I'm going to get ready to start a long day of tech.

But I'm so excited.

And every time I look at the theater, I get so happy.

I don't think you can not be happy looking at that.

And I always say, I keep saying it's like a little like, boop, which is which is right there.

It's a such a sweet little thing on the middle of the street.

We are in my dressing room at the Broadhurst Theatre, and today is our first Broadway preview.

Which I guess it's technically my Broadway debut, so that's very cool.

Very, very exciting.

I like to do a very gentle warm up, feeling like I'm picking it all up and replacing it so that I'm able to sing the show properly.

Nothing to pout about.

Listen to me.

Gee Whiz.

But God I want something to shout about.

This show to sing is a beast.

It's David Foster!

You knoiw?

David Foster writing for Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, and so, you know, you have to you have to deliver something.

Something to shout about.

Whatever it is.

Doing the voice, it was nerve wracking to to start to do it because it's so iconic and everyone knows what she sounds like.

I like to watch it to get like a sense of the vibe and the movement of the Fleischer cartoons, and like to hear her voice again is always good.

I'm not doing a direct copy of her voice, but it's always nice to, like, have a refresher of what she actually sounds like, so that's good.

She goes like, oh, I'm whoever you want me to be.

I guess, you know, she just kind of talks like this, but, she just has her very own little voice.

It's like, start off the show in this insane beaded number.

It is like a vest and a top and a pair of matching tap shorts.

That you can tell when a designer loves women and Gregg Barnes loves women.

I'm here with my good friend and colleague Gregg Barnes, who did all of our costumes for the show, and we're going to talk about, one of our very special costumes.

That's right.

Our finale dress.

This dress, it was beaded in India.

We had it beaded in India.

But you know everything about a costume is just an idea until I meet the star or any actor in the fitting.

And we build this together.

So I cannot take credit for this, but I can take credit for our collaboration.

Yeah.

And how we approached it.

I love this dress, and I think I wear it for about two minutes max.

Yeah, yeah.

There's no one like Gregg.

The way he sees the world and he just adds a little sparkle to it.

Oh my goodness!

Can I see that?

Thank you.

They just brought this first like preview playbill and inside of it is this little like drawing.

Oh my goodness.

First preview I was ready.

I was like let's go.

I was like, let's get the audience in here.

We felt so prepared that by that time I was finally like, okay, let's just see what this feels like.

Let's get this going.

(Crowd Applause) We put our feet on the stage, on this Broadway stage, and people saw it and people loved it.

It's very special.

I don't I, you know, you always dream of those things, but you never know what they're going to feel like.

(Crowd Applause) When I came out of the stage door and they were all waiting and they all, like, applauded and came up and spoke to me, that was like a moment that I think I've been waiting for for a long time, because I was like, I want so badly to be a part of this community.

And when it finally happened, it was just like, oh my goodness, I'm just so grateful.

It is April 5th, we are about to open Boop!

The Musical tonight at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway.

And I'm getting ready to head to the theatre to start getting ready.

It's going to be a long day.

We don't, you know, hit the carpet till four, but I'm starting to get ready around one, so heading there now.

I've been getting text messages all day and I have 173 unread messages in my phone.

And I'm like, "so sorry it's taken so long for me to reply."

Oh my goodness!

Not quite like this, I'd say.

This is definitely, definitely different.

Yeah.

Thank you so much.

In my professional career, to have a moment that feels so solid and so true and so sure, it's really, really special.

(Cheers) Oh my goodness!

We're at the red carpet of Boop!

It's so exciting!

It's starting to drizzle just a little bit, but it's okay.

I'm so happy.

I don't even care.

Because I've always dreamt of getting to stand next to the people that I've looked up to forever.

Like Audra is literally in the theater next door.

And the fact that I'm getting to become a Broadway leading lady in this way I...

I couldn't have dreamt it, I don't think.

(Crowd Applause) That was everything I've ever wanted and more!

It was glorious!

It was so, so special!

(Crowd Applause) Getting to open as Betty Boop on Broadway has been the biggest dream come true.