Ainsley Melham Discusses the Vibrant World of BOOP! THE MUSICAL

Following a critically acclaimed pre-Broadway run in Chicago, BOOP! THE MUSICAL is set to dazzle New York audiences when it begins previews at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 11, 2025, with an official opening on April 5. Among the returning principal cast is Ainsley Melham, who reprises his role as Dwayne, once again bringing his dynamic stage presence to this whimsical production inspired by the iconic cartoon character Betty Boop. Under the direction and choreography of Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, with music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and a book by Bob Martin, BOOP! THE MUSICAL combines a lively jazz-age flair with a heartwarming story about love, self-discovery, and finding magic in everyday life. We caught up with Aussie favourite Ainsley Melham to get an insight into the creative process, the joys of collaborating with a star-studded cast, and what it means to help Betty Boop tap into her timeless charm on Broadway.

What drew you to the role of Dwayne in BOOP! THE MUSICAL, and how do you see him fitting into Betty Boop’s vibrant world?

First and foremost, Dwayne is a musician who is hustling hard to carve out a career in New York—that’s literally every artist in this city—so there was common ground from the get go. But what I really loved, and do love about Dwayne, is that he is an old soul living in a contemporary age. That’s why he and Betty get on so well. And that gives me great scope, as an actor, to draw inspiration and consider influences both old and new for my performance.

You’ve played iconic characters on stage before—what makes Dwayne distinct, and how does that challenge or expand your abilities as a performer?

Dwayne is not a figure that exists in the canon of Fleischer characters, he’s completely new for this musical. So while he is paired with an iconic figure, his architecture is completely up to the writers, myself, and the creative team. That is thrilling in a way, because there is complete creative freedom in a cartoon world that is very familiar, but it is also terrifying, because we are tasked with birthing a character that can stand beside Betty Boop and still be engaging.

BOOP! THE MUSICAL is rooted in classic cartoon history. How do you balance that nostalgic, almost vintage charm with the modern storytelling elements required for contemporary theatre audiences?

The narrative of BOOP! THE MUSICAL moves between two worlds—Betty’s black and white reality which has all the nostalgia of old Hollywood, and present day New York City with its colour, charm, and intensity. The fusion of these two settings helps us tell an engaging and relatable story that feels accessible in 2025, while tapping into the classic style and charm that is synonyms with Betty Boop.

Jerry Mitchell is famous for energetic, large-scale musicals. How has his direction and choreography influenced your understanding of both your character and the overall tone of the show?

BOOP! certainly lives up to Jerry’s iconic, energetic, and FULLOUT style. What I love about the direction and choreography in this show is that it really allows the artist to bring so much of themselves to the storytelling. Jerry is a meticulous technician, but he is also extremely collaborative, so there is much that we have been able to contribute as actors, with regards character and personal story arc. For Dwayne, I wanted the way he moved, the dance vocabulary, to be very much Gene Kelly/Fred Astaire, and Jerry agreed, as long as I could make that feel relevant in a contemporary setting.

The show explores Betty Boop’s journey from her black-and-white celebrity life into a more colourful world. How does that shift manifest on stage for the other characters, and in what ways does it affect your performance?

Now I don’t want to give too much away here, because the movement between worlds is a really thrilling part of the show’s design. What I will say is that near all of our characters in the show get to move between worlds, and our brilliant costume designer (Greg Barnes), scenic designer (David Rockwell), Iighting designer (Philip S. Rosenberg), and projection designer—there’s a big hint—(Finn Ross) make that happen.

David Foster’s music is well known for its emotional pull. What has it been like working with original songs by him, and how do these compositions help you connect with Dwayne’s emotional arcs?

It is one of the most thrilling experiences of my career, standing beside David Foster at the piano and singing his songs. His music is instantly hummable, and so damn catchy, and for this show he has managed to deliver all the charm of classic Broadway in a score that feels absolutely contemporary and new. As an actor, his music cracks your heart open, and allows you to access all the emotion necessary to tell this story.

You previously performed in large Disney productions with broad appeal. Does that experience shape how you approach a family-friendly show like BOOP!, especially in terms of energy and audience engagement?

Definitely! Working on shows like Aladdin, R&H’s Cinderella, and Wicked, has provided me with invaluable experience and insight into how I might pitch my performance in BOOP! By the same token, working on more independent projects, on a slightly smaller scale, have been useful here also because they remind me that truth is the filter through which all choices must be funnelled.

You had a Chicago pre-Broadway run, which presumably offered invaluable audience feedback. Could you share one key lesson or adjustment you made following that initial engagement that helped strengthen your character?

There was a major change in Chicago for Dwayne—and it manifested in a new and additional song in the second act. David Foster and Susan Birkenhead wrote the song one Sunday, I learnt it Monday, staged it Tuesday, tech rehearsal Wednesday, and it was in the show Thursday. The song allows the audience a little more access to Dwayne’s head and heart at a point when we think things could really fall apart. It’s the moment I can show the audience who Dwayne really is.

With all the visual spectacle and innovative marionette elements (like Pudgy the Dog), how do you maintain focus on authentic storytelling without getting lost in the show’s dazzling technical aspects?

It is definitely a show filled with spectacle—I could sit and watch Pudgy the Dog, and puppeteer Phillip Huber, all day—but those technical aspects are carefully honed to support the story telling. The style and tone is heightened, but there is real heart and truth in the narrative, and that’s what we are reaching for as a company.

Do you think there is any chance of seeing Boop in Australia in the near future?

It is definitely a possibility! It depends, first, on how the show is received in New York, and what sort of appeal beyond Broadway it has—it helps that Betty Boop is an icon worldwide. And Jerry’s shows have been very successful across the globe, so I don’t see why BOOP! couldn’t tread a similar path.