JOY A New True Musical

The story of Joy Mangano, a single mom from Long Island who through her tenacity and ingenuity, becomes a millionaire, is inspirational. She created household products and made millions. A 2015 film starring Jennifer Lawrence gave a fictionalized version of her life.Now Joy’s story, directed by Lorin Latarro, has become a musical called “Joy: A New True Musical” (Andy Einhorn-music supervision and arrangements.)
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The talented Betsy Wolfe (“Waitress,” “& Juliet”) gives an energetic performance as Joy, the woman who created and sold thousands of Miracle Mops on QVC. With her powerful voice, Wolfe is dynamic, hopeful and larger than life.

Joy is struggling to make ends meet when she loses her job at the airport. Her divorced, depressed mother, Toots lives with her. Funny and sarcastic, Jill Abramovitz’s droll delivery as her mother imbues every line with humor. Even though she’s constantly deriding her daughter, Toots’ delivery endears her to the audience because we recognize the critical yet loving mother.

Joy’s father shares the basement with her ex-husband and everyone depends on Joy to support them. Christie, her daughter, resents her mother, who is always busy and never has time or money for her.

As Joy’s daughter, Honor Blue Savage conveys believable pre-teen angst. making faces and expressing annoyance at her mother’s broken promises. Savage has a sweet voice and a natural talent.

Wolfe is the obvious heart of the musical and the major reason to see it. Her talents and personality carry the show. She’s indomitable which allows us to believe in the woman who won’t give up, even when faced with bankruptcy and lawsuits and a menacing tough guy.

The first act explores Joy’s path from discovery and creativity to her financial break-through on QVC. There’s a bit of tension as characters are introduced and we begin to see how strong she is. This musical could almost be a paeon to feminists.

The men in her life are weak personalities. Her father mismanages her business , almost forcing her into bankruptcy, her ex-husband lives in her basement and ‘Cowboy Eddie' personifies the forces of big business working against her. He attempts to swindle her creation from her, while denigrating her as a female.

With a book by Ken Davenport and music & lyrics by Annmarie Milazzo, the second act moves quickly but is not as interesting. Except for the power ballad “A Better Way,” where Joy fights to keep her business, the music is uninspiring. When Joy travels to Texas to confront Cowboy Eddie, he and his henchmen perform a song and dance that feels more like a hoedown than a menace. ((Choreography by Joshua Bergasse.)

At the end, there’s the trial to determine who will own the Miracle Mop. (spoiler alert: Joy wins the trial ) The decision comes as a shock to everyone who had little faith in her, yet the verdict wasn’t explained. I found myself wondering why the jury found in her favor, and then five minutes later found I didn't care.

One of the highlights of the musical is a random give-away of Miracle Mops to some people in the audience. It certainly added some energy and enthusiasm (Sadly , I wasn’t a winner.)

Most impressive are the actual videos of the real Joy and learning of her financial accomplishments. She invented Miracle Mop, as well as several other items designed to help the average homemaker including the Huggable Hangers, My Little Steamer and the Memory Cloud Pillow. Today Joy, who worked as a waitress and for the airlines has a net worth of 70 million dollars.

There are two reasons to see this musical. First and foremost is the talented Betsy Wolfe. Second is that the show presents an example of someone who achieved the American Dream. Joy is more than joyful; it is about life filled with possibilities and perseverance.