‘Joy’ Review: A Rags-to-QVC-Riches Story

A cynic could question the very existence of a musical about the inventor of the Miracle Mop. But consider that there have been movies about Beanie Babies (“The Beanie Bubble”), Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (“Flamin’ Hot”) and Pop-Tarts (“Unfrosted”), and “Joy: A New True Musical” does not seem so random anymore. And unlike Cheetos, the self-wringing mop at least made women’s lives a little bit easier — for it is they who still handle most of the housecleaning.

The title inventor and entrepreneur is Joy Mangano, who had already inspired the 2015 film “Joy,” in which she was portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. In Ken Davenport and AnnMarie Milazzo’s show, it’s the Tony Award nominee Betsy Wolfe’s turn to don the title character’s sensible slacks. Wolfe (“& Juliet”), a dead ringer for Mangano, has a down-to-earth warmth and precise comic timing, and she is a confident singer. She is the main reason to catch the wholesome, low-boil production now running at the Laura Pels Theater.

The word “miracle” comes up so often in the show — starting with the mop’s name and ending with the grand finale, “Go Make a Miracle” — one might assume the action is set in Lourdes instead of on Long Island. Joy’s rags-to-QVC-riches story did not hinge on divine providence, but on very human ingenuity, guts and persistence.

We first meet our heroine in the early 1990s, and her life is a mess: She’s has split from her ne’er-do-well husband, Tony (Brandon Espinoza); just lost her job with an airline; and is stuck between her separated parents, the philandering Rudy (Adam Grupper) and the agoraphobic Toots (Jill Abramovitz).

Fortunately her imagination can’t be tamped down, and Joy — always bursting with gadget ideas — comes up with a design for a more efficient mop. After failing to find distribution, she finally gets a break when QVC lets her peddle her ware on TV.

Davenport’s book takes a few liberties with Mangano’s journey, but they don’t impact the big picture — or appear to trouble Mangano, who’s plugging the show on her website. The stage Joy has only one child, Christie (Honor Blue Savage), instead of the real-life three; Ronni (Gabriela Carrillo) has morphed from Mangano’s longtime friend to a supportive QVC employee.