JOY: A New True Musical at Laura Pels Theatre

The trial run of JOY: A New True Musical kicked off in New Jersey in 2022, at the George Street Playhouse. Where Joy Mangano herself came along for the opening night performance with her family. In an interview with the Delaware County Daily Times, she stated “In the musical, Ken Davenport and AnnMarie Milazzo show how much family dynamics drove me to conquer obstacles, fight to get my product seen, and work hard to get it into people’s homes.” And now, with huge ambition to eventually move to Broadway, JOY: A New True Musical opens for a limited, for an eight-week run from July to August 2025 in New York, at the Laura Pels Theatre, specifically chosen for its intimate setting!

JOY: A New True Musical Tickets

“It was fantastic. Funny, heartwarming, and it shows you not to give up on your dreams. I loved it! JOY will bring you joy.”

JOY: A New True Musical

It’s right there in the name… The true story of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop. The show draws from both Joy Mangano’s 2017 autobiography, Inventing Joy, and also from the 2015 film, Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence.

The entrepreneur, inventor, best-selling author, and self-made millionaire Joy Mangano started out as a divorced, single mother and bankrupt. Joy became an incredibly successful woman and business magnate all due to the invention of a mop! This is a lifelong journey that epitomizes the real American Dream, a feel-good musical about finding yourself through hard work, determination, imagination, and reinvention, with a twist. It is a powerful testament to never giving up on yourself, your dreams, and definitely not giving up on family.

“This is definitely THE musical for this SUMMER!”

JOY: A New True Musical runs for 2 hours, including an intermission. The show is perfectly suitable for all ages. Photography and recording devices of any kind inside the theatre are strictly prohibited by law. 

“The story of JOY is beautifully told and shows you that you should believe in yourself and your dreams! Run and see this!!!”

Cast and Creative Team

Tony Award nominee Betsy Wolfe, who you will undoubtedly recognize from shows like Falsettos, & Juliet, and Waitress, stars as Joy Mangano, a role she was specifically picked for after the first reading back in 2019, where she displayed an incredible likeness to Joy’s personality and could easily relate to the show’s themes of family values and perseverance. The remainder of the cast includes Jill Abramovitz as Toots, Honor Blue Savage as Christie, Charl Brown as Dan, Adam Grupper as Rudy, Brandon Espinoza as Tony, Gabriela Carrillo as Ronni, Paul Whitty as Cowboy Eddie, and Jaygee Macapugay as Lorraine. The ensemble features a huge range of seasoned performers like Dana Costello, Ryan Duncan, Gaelen Gilliland, Sydni Moon, Manuel Santos, Brian Shepard, Allysa Shorte, Lael Van Keuren, and Alan Wiggins, bringing a diverse group filled with experience from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional productions.

“Beautiful, empowering, inspiring.”

JOY: A New True Musical features a book by Tony Award winner Ken Davenport, music and lyrics by Tony and Grammy nominee AnnMarie Milazzo, with additional material by Amanda Yesnowitz. It is Directed by Lorin Latarro, known for choreography in Tommy and The Heart of Rock and Roll, with choreography by Emmy winner Joshua Bergasse. The music was scored and supervised by Andy Einhorn. This is a one-of-a-kind, moving, and empowerment-charged musical theater event that is not to be missed!

“Betsy Wolfe is commanding, compelling, and easy to root for. This show felt like home. Beautiful score. Smart book. This show reminds you why we go to the theatre.”

Laura Pels Theatre

Opening in 2004 and having played host to some notable productions like Bad Jews and Merrily We Roll Along. It is situated within the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, at 111 West 46th Street, New York, NY. The Laura Pels Theatre is a tiny, little theater seating just over 400 guests, with a cool and soothing blue interior, incredibly comfortable seating, and excellent sightlines due to its intimate size. This is the perfect place to watch JOY, infact, it was hand-picked to be the premiere Off-Broadway venue of choice.

The theater is fully accessible with wheelchair seating and an elevator. Assistive listening devices, handheld captions, and prerecorded audio descriptions are all available on request, do get hold of the box office prior to arriving at the show to make any arrangements. The Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre is easily accessed from subways arriving at Times Square or 49th Street and local bus routes M5 and M55 arriving at 31st and 44th Street, respectively. Parking is available from various midtown locations from Spothero, Edison Parkfast, and Icon Parking. Do be sure to plan your day out in advance as New York can get fairly busy with what would seem like frequent alien and superhuman disturbances, not to mention the usual traffic jams.

Tickets

Book your seat now for JOY: A New True Musical at Laura Pels Theatre, in New York, NY, running from July to August 2025. Considering the popularity of the film and the extremely limited, 8-week run, this is one show you cannot afford to miss. Snap up some tickets today from TicketSqueeze.com, all you have got to do is hit the ‘Buy Tickets’ button next to your chosen date, and be sure to get enough for the whole family! It’s a show guaranteed to inspire the entire audience for ages after the curtain closes.