BOOP!'s Faith Prince on Playing an Astrophysicist, Embracing Her 'Mama' Status and Being 'Just Famous Enough'

One of the nicest surprises in BOOP! The Musical is the Broadway return of Faith Prince. This incomparable comic actress plays astrophysicist (!) Valentina who finds late-in-life love with Betty Boop’s grandfather (just go with it) in a charming subplot, paired with Stephen DeRosa. During the company’s final run-through before moving to the Broadhurst Theatre, Prince was surrounded by young cast members who clearly adore her—and who weren’t alive when she won a Tony for stopping the show as Miss Adelaide in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls. (Fans who were alive then will note that BOOP! gives a wink to the symptoms of Adelaide’s “lament.”)

In recent years, Prince has spent most of her time in Sacramento, California, the hometown of her husband, trumpeter Larry Lunetta. She chatted with Broadway.com during previews, making mock complaints about her pal Jerry Mitchell’s demanding choreography and reveling in her role as everyone’s backstage “Mama.”

It’s great to have you back on Broadway, directed by Jerry Mitchell. I understand you two have been pals for 36 years, since Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.

We sure have. Back then, we had these ballet classes [during rehearsal], and Jerry led the classes for the “character” people: me, Jason Alexander, Debbie Gravitte. We became friends, but we never got to work together again until this came along. He said, “I’ve got a part that needs you to sort of develop it,” and it was just one of those things where you go, “OK!”—then jump into the deep end and swim.

Have you concentrated more on concerts in the past decade? Did you start to think of yourself as semi-retired?

No, no, the pandemic happened, and I got into teaching and coaching and doing concerts. I have a big studio in California and I started directing cabaret acts. I teach throughout the year, at the St. Louis Cabaret Conference and as a master teacher with Kristin Chenoweth [at the star’s Broadway Bootcamp]. I did a TV series called Monarch in Atlanta for Fox—I played Susan Sarandon’s younger sister—and a TV movie [Dear Christmas] with Melissa Joan Hart. I kept going during the pandemic, but there wasn’t a lot of theater.

How does it feel to be back on a Broadway stage?

My brother used to say to me, “You’re more yourself when you step on those stages than you are in real life.” That’s all I can tell you! It’s just comforting. You step out and go, “Oh! Hello!” Something about it is so familiar to me, particularly the Broadway stages. I’m just trying to contribute what I can and enjoy my partner, Stephen DeRosa. He and I are like yin and yang: He’s Mister Positive, and I’m Elaine Stritch.

Are you surprised that young people are into Betty Boop?

No. It’s an iconic figure to this day, a brand that has superseded the years. [Animator] Max Fleischer was so far ahead of his time when he created those cartoons and made her this strong woman. I loved the cartoons, and I had a porcelain version of the doll that my brother gave me. [When they heard about BOOP!] a lot of my friends said, “You’re not Betty Boop, are you?” and I said, “Lord no, honey! I’m a little long in the tooth for that.”

No, you're an astrophysicist.

Exactly! It’s fun to be in something that’s about women’s empowerment; it’s a good message. This is certainly the most different kind of thing I’ve ever done, trying to make reality within a cartoon world.

Are you enjoying singing new songs by superstar composer/producer David Foster?

Yes, and telling a new story where nobody knows the plot when they come in. It’s not another movie [adaptation] that you already know how it ends.

You mentioned having an affinity with Betty Boop. What do you think of Jasmine Amy Rogers’ Broadway debut performance?

She is phenomenal. It’s like a Barbra Streisand turn. And she’s ready for this—her mom raised that child really well. Jasmine has the brainpower and the head for all this, so I’m not worried about her. I love being around all these kids.

Are your young castmates aware that you are a Broadway legend?

I don’t know. It’s sort of like being in Peanuts, and I’m Lucy in my five-cent [psychiatrist] shack. They come in and share things with me, and not just about the business. They call me “Mama.” I don’t go on until 40 minutes into the show, and they’ll come around and say hello, kiss my hand, give me a little kiss on the head, hug me—they’re so respectful. And, of course, they’re out there dancing their hearts out. They’re super-talented and adorable. It’s an incredible company, but I would expect no less from Jerry Mitchell. He drills you! I thought if I did that [fast-paced] “Where’s Betty?” number one more time, I was going to have to slap him. “Another time! Another time!” I wanted to say, “Jerry, do you know how old I am? Please!”

Do you like being called Mama?

I love it. I was on the road with Billy Elliot, playing the dance teacher, and one of the gals in charge of the ballet girls turned to me and said, “Come on, Mama, let’s get in there.” And I was like, “Mama?” But then I thought, “Well, OK!” I’ve always been in mother-like roles, even before I was a mother. When I was young, I babysat and was a counselor, and I took care of my own mother for 15 years; she’ll be 90 this year. My son [music producer Henry Lunetta] Is my favorite person on the planet. I have that natural co-dependence in me. I always say that when you die, you don’t want on your tombstone, “She was a funny actress.”

Or you don’t want just that.

I don’t want just that. You want someone to say, “She was a good egg. She was great to be around. She was a good mom.” I wouldn’t want just “funny actress.”

You don't have to think about tombstones yet.

Oh, people in this business are so weird about age. I don’t care about age, I never did. I don’t get upset about any of that. I’m a character actress! But even if you aren’t, you have to come to terms with aging and accept it because everything—your 40s, your 50s, your 60s—comes with hardships. But if you do it right, you can savor it, enjoy life and find a way to give back.

You’ve appeared in a lot of great musicals. What’s been your happiest onstage experience?

Hmmm. I’m not a looker-backer, I tend to like where I am at the moment, but probably Guys and Dolls, because it was an iconic moment. As Nathan Lane [who played gambler Nathan Detroit] said in one of his interviews, the whole thing was a big surprise. It seemed like a routine revival, and suddenly [after opening night], Nathan and I were on the cover of The New York Times. It was like, what just happened?! I enjoyed the joy and the discovery of that, but honestly, everything that came with it was not easy.

How so? And what advice would you give your younger self?

I loved the work—I still love the work—but the selling of it, the fame part of it, never appealed to me. If I wrote a book, it would be titled Just Famous Enough. I’m watching Jasmine now get hit from all sides, not only carrying eight shows a week of a branded show. She’s got a lot coming at her, and it takes fortitude to set boundaries. My 25-year-old self would wish I had found somebody who could handle those parts of my career. But I’ve always been an old soul. I got what I needed, which was a balance of a home and a family and living in a different place but still getting to do what I love. I’ve kind of worked it all out just right.