‘I'm Always Fighting Myself to Be Better, Better, Better': Boop! Star Jasmine Amy Rogers Looks Ahead to the Tonys
After a two-year stint at the Manhattan College of Music, she dropped out and quickly landed a role in a new musical, Becoming Nancy, directed by Jerry Mitchell that premiered in Atlanta in 2019. Following a tour as Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls, she was brought in by Mitchell to audition for Betty in the Chicago try-out of Boop! in 2023. (She had played a different, supporting character in an earlier workshop of the show.)
She was not prepared for the tap-heavy choreography involved in that first audition. 'It was horrifying!' A competitive dancer as a child, she stopped training when she moved to Texas at 11, but figured enough of the skill would come back for her to wing it; she was wrong. 'It was soul-crushing, I went home and sobbed,' she recalls, the cringe still visible in her eyes. She did not get the part then.
Later that spring, she happened to be in a rehearsal space in Manhattan, helping a friend with another show, when she heard the Boop! music wafting down the hallway. Rogers did some digging and discovered the production still had not cast Betty. She describes pacing around midtown that day, contemplating what she should do before finally calling her agent. 'I was like, 'I don't know what we need to do, but I need to get back in there.' I'd never done anything like that before.' It worked, and for two weeks she crammed in as many tap classes at Broadway Dance Center as she could before her second chance at the role.
The rest is history, and the performance she delivers is a brilliant hat trick: a disarmingly human portrayal of a famously one-dimensional character. 'The tricky part about her,' Rogers says of Betty, 'is combining the larger-than-life energy of a cartoon with a real person.' Her standout 11 o'clock number, 'Something to Shout About,' a towering David Foster Ballad, brings down the house.
Rogers describes herself as bubbly and larger-than-life, which made building Betty a natural process. 'There is a lot of her that also belongs to Jasmine.'
And she relished recreating Betty's signature hour-glass look with costume designer Gregg Barnes, who is also up for a Tony. 'I'm in a corset the whole show; it's great and terrible at the same time. But the shape it creates is so beautiful, I wouldn't feel like her without it.' For Betty's iconic bob and curls, Rogers and hair stylist Sabana Majeed looked to Dorothy Dandridge and other old Hollywood references to make it recognizable but elevated.
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Gay rights icon Harvey Milk's legacy slighted by decision to rename Navy ship
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We will say we're not the biggest fans of pushbutton gear selectors and would rather have a lever or a dial. We understand why Nissan did it—Lincoln, for example, has similar controls in the Navigator full-size SUV, too—we're just not fans of it. A column shifter would achieve the same console-space-saving goals, though we get that buttons are easier to design around than a physical shifter, and that allows for a cleaner and more open interior design. It's also nice to have a power telescoping and tilt function steering column. Hopping into the captain's chair in the second row is a very comfortable experience for this over 6-feet-tall writer, but those seats are not powered. It's all manual, but having the ability to slide the middle seat back and forth is still a nice way to share available legroom. It's all the same leather material for the front and rear seats, too. The rear seats feature their own climate control system with heated seats, and both second-row passengers can power their devices using the two USB C ports or the 12-volt port on the back of the center console. The third row is still tight for anyone other than small children even with the second-row seat fully forward, but those rearmost seats power-fold up and down with a switch in the cargo area. There are two fold-down buttons for the second-row seat backs but getting them back up remains a manual matter. Overall, we really don't have any other major complaints about the Armada's packaging. It's a great but huge vehicle, and parking is a struggle for street parking in the city. But that's where the 360 cameras come in so handy, and we wish more vehicles came standard with one. It helps so much when you're trying to park a huge monster of a truck like the Armada and make sure you don't curb those expensive 22-inch aluminum wheels. Smaller Engine, Similar Performance Drive the 2025 Armada Platinum Reserve, and you might come away surprised it's powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 (that is, if no one told you what was under the hood). Despite this fully loaded Platinum Reserve's 6,082-pound curb weight, that smaller engine helps the SUV get around with ease thanks to its 516 lb-ft of torque, which arrives at just 3,600 rpm. You'll be able to merge smoothly thanks to its 6.3-second 0–60-mph capability, which trails the last-generation, V-8-powered Armada Platinum (we last tested one in 2022) by 0.1 second. Wait, the new Armada is … slower? If only just—but remember, the old one was about a hundred pounds lighter. Nevertheless, the V-6 feels far less winded when pushed than the 5.6-liter V-8 it replaces, impressive given its size. And beyond 60 mph, the turbo engine catches up, posting a quicker 14.7-second quarter-mile time (0.1 second better than the 2022 Armada) at a faster 95.0 mph (versus 94.2 mph). The new Armada also stops shorter from 60 mph (in 121 feet versus 124), while its fresh suspension helps it post higher lateral grip (0.77 g versus 0.74) and a notably quicker figure-eight lap time (27.6 seconds compared to the old Armada's 28.3). Disappointingly, given the switch away from the V-8, it's big and it's hungry. Even at its best, the highway mileage is only EPA-estimated at 19 mpg. That then drops to 16 mpg in the city and has a combined rating of just 17 mpg. Those figures are up big time from the old Armada's 13/18/15 mpg figures when equipped with four-wheel drive, but still. Oh, and keep in mind that it also requires premium fuel to get full power out of that twin-turbo V-6, though the Nissan can be fed regular without issue. But Back to That Infiniti… But as far as luxury goes, the Armada drives well and rides merely decently (it can't match a Jeep Wagoneer's cushiness, and the 22-inch wheels ride harshly over bad pavement), while the cabin is classier than before if not quite Infiniti-level, and loaded with every toy you can get on the QX80. So, we ask again, as we did when the new Armada first launched: Why consider the Infiniti at all? A would-be Infiniti customer might reconsider even looking at the similarly priced QX80 Pure AWD. At $86,840, the Armada you see here costs $705 less and includes similar features like ProPilot Assist 2.1, 22-inch wheels, and air ride off the bat. The only plus for the QX80 Pure AWD is two more speakers and flush-fit exterior door handles—and that Infiniti badge. You'd have to be an Infiniti diehard or keen on the fancier badge to not choose the Armada Platinum Reserve here. And consider that it takes that same Infiniti customer an extra $11,800 to upgrade to the QX80's Luxe trim that matches this Armada Platinum Reserve feature for feature. The Infiniti seems to have a ride quality and overall interior styling advantage over this specific Nissan, which doesn't seem to manage its 22-inch wheels as neatly as the QX80 and has less shiny stuff inside. While we're not Nissan product planners and therefore can't speak to the apparent overlap between the newest Armada and QX80 SUVs, it's certainly good news for savvy shoppers eyeing a feature-laden full-size three-row SUV. Looking for luxury on a budget? The 2025 Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve brings Infiniti levels of fancy for less.
