BOOP! Up-and-Comer Angelica Hale on Dreaming of Becoming the Next Whitney Houston and Tapping into Her Younger Self

Age: 17

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Current Role: Angelica Hale makes her Broadway debut in BOOP! The Musical as Trisha, a teenage artist and cosplayer obsessed with Betty Boop. 

Credits: At the age of nine, Hale competed on America’s Got Talent and finished as the youngest runner-up in the show’s history. Since then, she’s performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, released original music, appeared in the film American Reject and voice-acted in the animated series Maya Unstoppable.

Meeting Betty Boop
Three years ago, Hale didn’t know much about Betty Boop. When she was cast in the developmental workshop of BOOP! as Trisha, a 14-year-old artist who idolizes the cartoon heroine, she watched every Betty Boop animated short she could find on YouTube. It turned into something of an obsession. “I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m more Trisha-accurate now.’”

Singing for Good
Hale doesn’t remember when she started singing but, she admits, she was singing constantly. “I remember I would sing in public restrooms,” she said. “My poor mom!” Hale’s parents put her in piano and voice lessons, played cast recordings at home and initiated an annual family tradition out of seeing The Phantom of the Opera. When Hale was four years old, she developed severe double pneumonia. Her doctors put her on ECMO life-support for 12 days. She went into septic shock and experienced multiple organ failure. Hale stayed at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta for nearly 80 days straight, but her kidneys never recovered. After spending a year and a half on dialysis, Hale needed a kidney transplant. Thankfully, her mom was a match. “I’d gone through quite a lot at such a young age, and I had to learn quickly that you never really know what’s going to happen next in life,” she said. Hale started singing at charity events for the hospitals that treated her. It wasn’t long until she was singing the national anthem at hospitals and football games. After that, she thought she might give competitions a try.  

Angelica’s Got Talent
Hale grew up watching America’s Got Talent. She didn’t make it onto the show the first time she auditioned, but she tried again the following year. “I want to be the next Whitney Houston,” Hale told the judges. “I want to be a superstar!” Making it onto the show, she quickly became an audience favorite and finished as the season’s runner-up, thanks to a save from judge Chris Hardwick’s golden buzzer. After the show, Hale and her parents, who were completely new to the entertainment industry, were flooded with requests for her to sing at events. Her career took off, leading her to sing for daytime shows and parade broadcasts and work with musicians like BOOP! composer David Foster.

Growing Up With Trisha
Hale auditioned for a workshop of BOOP! when she was 14. She recognized Foster’s name but didn’t expect anything to come of it. When she got the news that she’d be playing Trisha, a spunky but insecure teenager who loves Betty Boop, she was in disbelief. She came back to the show for a table read the following year, but the creative team decided to open auditions for its out-of-town run in Chicago. Hale was nervous. This would be the first time she’d need to dance to play the role. She took classes leading up to the audition but worried it wouldn’t be enough. “I went into the room and I literally was like, ‘I’m not getting this role,’” she said. “My dancing was horrible!” But she got the part—again. BOOP! the show had changed over time. So had Hale. “Trisha sort of grew with me.”

Honoring Her Voice
“Every night when I go on stage, I feel like I’m tapping into my younger self,” the young actress said. As Trisha, Hale is a firecracker with a big personality and a bigger voice. But despite Trisha’s obvious aptitude for performance, she’s still a 14-year-old who’s unsure of herself. Channeling Trisha means remembering the insecurities she’s tried to outgrow. As a young performer, Hale was hard on herself. “I used to think my voice was not good enough,” she said. Doing a Broadway show eight times a week has done wonders for her confidence. “I’m sort of reassuring myself every night while reassuring Trisha and telling her story.” 

Where I Wanna Be
One of Hale’s favorite scenes in BOOP! happens about halfway through the first act, where Trisha gets to be alone on a rooftop Betty Boop, played by newly minted Tony nominee Jasmine Amy Rodgers. Trisha confides in Betty about the doubts she has as an artist, and Betty pushes her to believe in herself. “I already see Jasmine as that sort of idol and look up to her,” Hale said. “In a sense, it’s not that different from how Trisha treats Betty.” She's having the time of her life in live-in-living-color fantasy New York of BOOP! “I’m not really lying onstage,” Hale said. “I really am having the best time.” Three years into her journey with the show, she still watches Betty Boop cartoons before she goes to bed. “They’re so fun to watch,” Hale said. “She’s so cutie pie!”