There’s a really fun one-act musical, currently playing off-Broadway, that relates the inspirational story of Joy Mangano, the Long Island single mother who found unlikely fame and fortune as the inventor of the Miracle Mop. Unfortunately, the show isn’t just one act but rather two, its second half completely squandering its theatrical momentum with a descent into narrative hokiness. Despite a terrific performance by Betsy Wolfe in the title role, the awkwardly titled Joy: A New True Musical needs some serious mopping up.
If the story seems familiar, it may be that you’re read Mangano’s autobiography or seen David O. Russell’s 2015 film about her, starring Jennifer Lawrence. Or maybe you’ve seen Mangano herself, pitching her wares on QVC or HSN. Her rags-to-riches tale is certainly appealing. As the musical depicts it, it begins with Joy living in Long Island with her depressed mother (Jill Abramovitz); her irresponsible father (Adam Grupper), now living in her basement and dating a much younger woman (Jaygee Macapugay); her ex-husband (Brandon Espinoza), an unemployed singer; and her teenage daughter (Honor Blue Savage) who’s perpetually mad at her mother for missing her soccer games.
When Joy cuts herself mopping up the shards of a broken bottle, an idea hits her in the form of a self-wringing mop with a detachable head that can easily be cleaned in a washing machine. Her mother derides her for her many previous failed inventions and implores her to give up the “MacGyver stuff.” But an undaunted Joy pitches the product to the skeptical folks at QVC and manages to win them over. They agree to give the innovative mop a chance, but the male salesperson (their research indicates that women prefer to buy products from men) makes a shambles of the on-air demonstration.
[Read Roma Torre’s ★★★☆☆ review here.]
It’s thus up to Joy to try and sell it herself, leading to the show’s best and funniest scene, in which she completely freezes on the air before regaining her composure and displaying her plucky personality and relating to her female viewers with, what else, an upbeat musical number, “Return to Vendor.”
So far, so good, with Wolfe — who worked similar magic in Waitress and & Juliet, among many other shows — so endlessly appealing as the beleaguered but indomitable Joy that you can’t help but root for her. Not to mention that Wolfe sings the hell out of the many adult contemporary power ballads in the serviceable but forgettable score by AnnMarie Milazzo.
But her virtuosic efforts are not enough to compensate for the atrocious book by Ken Davenport (who also produced) which renders the situations and characterizations in broadly silly, sitcom-level style. This is particularly true in the second act, with a manufactured series of business and personal crises that ensue after the success of the Miracle Mop, culminating with a copyright trial that plays like a cut scene from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Director Lorin Latarro does her best to keep the proceedings moving along briskly, and choreographer Joshua Bergasse (Smash, On the Town) contributes some fun group dances, including a number for the all-male QVC executives. And the supporting players, including such Broadway vets as Grupper, Espinoza, and Charl Brown (Motown), do as best they can with their broadly drawn, stereotypical characters.
Much like an impassioned product spiel on QVC or HSN, the musical sells itself mightily, at one point even handing out free Miracle Mops to various audience members. (Critics could never accept one, of course, for ethical reasons. And if you believe that, do I have a pitch for you.) But as much as you can appreciate the Horatio Alger aspects of this uplifting story about a woman who went on to invent many other products with sales eventually totaling over $3 billion, Joy: A New True Musical fails to seal the deal.
Joy—A New True Musical opened July 20, 2025, at the Laura Pels Theater and runs through August 17. Tickets and information: joythemusical.com
