JOY: Yes or no? — Page 2
#27
Posted: 7/3/25 at 11:05pm
Just getting home from this. Betsy is absolutely wonderful. The musical is absolutely awful. It wants to be a new “Waitress” SO BADLY. I can’t hum anything from the score tonight but it’s so reminiscent of a few songs from “Waitress”, I was singing “Opening Up” all the way home.
The act one finale has them passing out miracle mops to people in the audience and then when intermission comes they came around to take them back. The woman near me was so insanely disappointed. Kind of like how I was with this entire evening.
#28
Posted: 7/3/25 at 11:47pm
Ken Davenport Strikes Out Again.
You can always count on me 🎶
#29
Posted: 7/4/25 at 12:25am
Jordan Catalano said: "Just getting home from this. Betsy is absolutely wonderful. The musical is absolutely awful. Itwants to be a new “Waitress” SO BADLY. I can’t hum anything from the score tonight but it’s so reminiscent of a few songs from “Waitress”, I was singing “Opening Up” all the way home.
The act one finale has them passing out miracle mops to people in the audience and then when intermission comes they came around to take them back. The woman near me was so insanely disappointed. Kind of like how I was with this entire evening."
Atleast they don'y have Betsy passing them out AT intermission like they had Mary Lou Henner giver people rice krispy treats at intermission of Gettin The Band Back Together.
#30
Posted: 7/4/25 at 10:56am
BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Atleast they don'y have Betsy passing them out AT intermission like they had Mary Lou Henner giver people rice krispy treats at intermission of Gettin The Band Back Together."
And then taking the rice krispy treats back?
I already have my tickets for this, and if they give me a mop, they'll have to take it back from my cold, dead hands. At least a free mop would be some return for the ticket price. 
#31
Posted: 7/4/25 at 10:59am
I did see one person walking out with a mop so I don’t know if they also sell them there or they let just one person keep one.
#32
Posted: 7/4/25 at 1:27pm
Unless things have changed since I saw it during the first week of previews, they do take the mops away at intermission but then give you a card to go and pick up your free mop at the end of the show. I would assume it is so that the mops don’t block the aisles or others views during act 2.
#33
Posted: 7/5/25 at 1:40pm
Betsy Wolfe is the sole reason to this...thing. It's a really, really bad show that just feels like a Diet Waitress . I didn't care about the other characters and the costumes/lighting/sets were atrocious. Retire to like, Yemin, Ken.
#34
Posted: 7/5/25 at 5:44pm
Oh…JOY
As stated, Betsy fans will get their fill and then some because she really does vocally tear the house down at points, and seems like the only fleshed out human in a world of cutouts (although I did very much enjoy Charl Brown’s QVC executive - like a very suave investor from Shark Tank).
Much like the movie, it has no idea how to tell her story effectively. The movie was much darker, but the musical has the sun shining out its posterior and they should be cutting things and not adding (a new song apparently went in for this performance and some have been rearranged). The only uniting factor is that the leading lady rises above the schlock.
The score is otherwise middling adult contemporary songs that use the words Miracle and Mop and their rhymes more than any self respecting musical should. Multiple times, I did think that this was a zero-calorie WAITRESS, and also asking why this begged to be a musical? I wouldn’t be surprised if this is just a dry run for a future Roundabout season slot at the Haimes, but I have a feeling the critics are going to eat this show alive, sparing Betsy.
Regarding the mops, they really give out a LOT of them (I think like 20 or so) and then they take them back right at intermission and exchange it for a coupon to redeem for a mop later. If you are sitting toward the center aisles, that’s your best chance for a free mop (and I cannot believe that is a sentence I just wrote on a Broadway message board)
Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!!
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#35
Posted: 7/6/25 at 1:03am
Personally - I thought this was such a fun night out! The lyrics were not great BUT - Betsy Wolfe was hilarious and her voice was phenomenal. The ensemble and supporting cast is full of Broadway vets which was great. Manuel Santos made his Tony debut tonight, script in hand. An announcement was made right before the show explaining he was notified today and hadn’t had a proper rehearsal yet due to still being in previews.
I did fill out the form to be selected to meet the cast. (It said to scan, fill out the form - name, email, seat, and number of people in your party, and someone named Nicole would pick someone randomly at intermission). Assumed it was a marketing ploy just to get our email address but curious if anyone has ever actually been picked?
#36
Posted: 7/6/25 at 9:34am
I went to see Joy on Thursday night with two other women and we all loved the show! Actually made us cry multiple times. The women in the seats in front of us were also in tears. Betsy Wolfe was extraordinary. The show is funny (there is a QVC scene with Betsy that had the audience howling). We all loved the music. The song Shape Of Things is stunning. (Will surely be a favorite audition song for women). That song is on the released album. There is also a song that Betsy sang towards end of show in front of the judge that wasn't on the album release, and it got a standing ovation mid show. The court case is actually studied in law school- my friend who is a lawyer explained that it was the first time in US history someone won a patent case without proof, just conviction of word.
The handing out of mops was hysterical- the audience was cheering- It is a silly and campy moment.
The costumes felt real- it is Long Island and QVC in the 90's. The set is very realized for Off Bway and sort of creatively folded and flipped. The show is heartfelt. We all left with tears in our eyes. Can't argue with that!
Anyway-sure there were moments that need to be worked out, but WE LOVED IT!
newskoolbway
Updated On: 7/6/25 at 09:34 AM
#37
Posted: 7/6/25 at 4:55pm
The jokes are so painful, It’s as if someone raided Shucked’s reject pile and then filtered it through a bad episode of a cheesy ’80s sitcom. Not a single punchline is born from character or situation—they’re cheap, clunky stabs at humor that land like wet mops on cold linoleum.
#38
Posted: 7/6/25 at 6:50pm
always bway said: "I went to see Joy on Thursday nightwith two other women and we all loved the show! Actually made us cry multiple times. The women in the seats in front of us werealso in tears. Betsy Wolfe was extraordinary. The show is funny (there is a QVC scene with Betsy that had the audience howling). We all loved the music. The song Shape Of Things is stunning. (Will surely be a favorite audition song for women). That song is on the released album. There is also a song that Betsy sangtowardsend of show in front of the judge that wasn't on thealbum release, and it got a standing ovation mid show. Itwas a goosebump moment. The court case is actually studied in law school- my friend who is a lawyer explained that itwasthe first time in US history someone won a patent case without proof, just conviction of word.
The handing out of mops was hysterical-the audience was cheering and whooping! It is a silly and campy moment in a knowing way.
The costumes felt real- it isLong Island and QVC in the 90's.The set is very realized for Off Bway and sort of creatively folded and flipped.The show is heartfelt and healing. We all left with tears in our eyes. Can't argue with that!
Anyway-sure there were moments that need to be worked out, but WE LOVED IT!"
how much did you invest in the show?
#39
Posted: 7/11/25 at 11:49pm
Saw this tonight and had a great time! Betsy Wolfe is incredible and is the reason to see this show. I thought the music was catchy, and the show was overall a fun time. I don’t know if it was a theater school group or something but there was a huge group of young people there tonight and they all loved it! There was a lot of cheers and positive audience responses. I’m not really that familiar with Betsy Wolfe, does she have a large youth following? Actually the entire audience as a whole was on the youthful side, way more than most other shows I’ve seen recently.
Saw Alex Newell there tonight, they really liked it too.
"It's Phantom meets Hamlet... Phamlet!"
Updated On: 7/11/25 at 11:49 PM
#40
Posted: 7/12/25 at 2:52am
Was also there tonight and share the same sentiments! Far from groundbreaking but so glad I saw it and enjoyed it for what it was/the cheap price I paid to get in. Please god don’t pay more than $50 for this.
Also ditto to the above poster - probably one of the more jazzy audiences I have been in recently. The energy in the theatre was nuts tonight. It was really fun and the show and score really soar in an Off-Broadway house of this size. I sat closer to the front and fair warning, probably haven’t sat through a show this loud sinceTommy - which quite frankly, I loved about it.
The entire score is just a Besty Wolf beltfest and that is reason enough to see it, even while the actual pacing and minutia of the production are fine at best.
TLDR - also enjoyed more than I thought I would! Critically a bit of a nothingburger but probably still worth a visit for most frequent users of this board.
Updated On: 7/12/25 at 02:52 AM
#41
Posted: 7/13/25 at 1:34am
This is like if AI wrote a musical.
Every single line, scene, moment, is what we have seen a million times before. A talented cast breaks through occasionally--Wolfe is able to muster up some funny moment underneath the weight of this script, Grupper and Abramowitz are such pros stuck with miserable characters treated way too kindly by the AI machine. Other characters are total throwaways- i was sure the father's girlfriend or the QVC secretary would get a song/moment, but that never happens. And actually the two numbers that worked best, I thought, were the big production numbers that they gave to smaller characters-- Charl Brown especially and Paul Whitty have solid moments.
But overall, yikes. A large cast, working hard, cannot elevate this. And I'm happy to be in the minority on this, the audience sure seemed appreciative, especially the people who got mops (and then, after the mops were taken away, vouchers for mops? I dont know.).
#42
Posted: 7/13/25 at 2:39am
DiscoCrows said: "Was also there tonight and share the same sentiments! Far from groundbreaking but so glad I saw it and enjoyed it for what it was/the cheap price I paid to get in. Please god don’t pay more than $50 for this.
Also ditto to the above poster - probably one of the more jazzy audiences I have been in recently. The energy in the theatre was nuts tonight. It was really fun and the show and score really soarin an Off-Broadway house of this size. I sat closer to the front and fair warning, probably haven’t sat through a show this loud sinceTommy - which quite frankly, I loved about it.
The entire score is just a Besty Wolf beltfest and that is reason enough to see it, even while the actual pacing and minutia of the production are fine at best.
TLDR - also enjoyed more than I thought I would! Critically a bit of a nothingburger but probably still worth a visit for most frequent users of this board."
What is TLDR?
#43
Posted: 7/13/25 at 11:31am
Shubert Alley Cat said: "What is TLDR?"
TLDR means "too long, didn't read" and is a way to "cut to the chase" of the message.
-----
I haven't and won't be seeing this, but I'm seeing several of my theatre-avid friends going via their Instagram and most are saying they enjoyed it/it made them cry (positive). That said, if they have negative thoughts, they don't usually put them out there.
I will say I watched the Jennifer Lawrence movie when it first came out and I bought a Miracle Mop as a result. (1,000 feet of continuous cotton loops!)
Updated On: 7/13/25 at 11:31 AM
#44
Posted: 7/14/25 at 10:05am
I believe Betsy had her Broadway Evolved workshop this past weekend (July 9-12) so it could be that a majority of the audience were from that.
https://www.instagram.com/broadwayevolved?igsh=MW1yZTdmaDcyODV2bQ==
#45
Posted: 7/18/25 at 10:13pm
I saw this yesterday. Everything about this show is milquetoast save Betsy's performance -- and even then...she spent a lot of the show downstage, hand on hip, singing the **** out of mediocre songs.
The whole QVC sequence at the end of Act One gave me some hope for the show -- I laughed out loud as Joy floundered on camera and then eventually found her stage presence. It was great.
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But then the whole patent/Texas/courtroom sequence in Act Two was miserable. The worst part about it was that they tried to pull a Legally Blonde, but all they did was give Joy a generic "You Can Do It Just Believe in Yourself" number as her courtroom argument. And the judge is just like, okay, sure, you're dumb but I like you. And that completely undercuts the idea that Joy is supposed to be intelligent in any way under the Clairol. It's maddening.
As mentioned before, it's going for Waitress (plus Legally Blonde), but the songs aren't nearly as good and the writing isn't nearly as clever as either of them.
#46
Posted: 7/20/25 at 8:55am
Opening Today: Sending Betsy the best. Talented and a good person.
#48
Posted: 7/20/25 at 8:26pm
Positive from Brian at CitiTour
https://cititour.com/NYC_Broadway/Joy-A-New-True-Musical/1314
#49
Posted: 7/20/25 at 8:33pm
Well, if Brian from CitiTour liked it, prepare for a smash hit.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#50
Posted: 7/20/25 at 8:37pm
So Jesse Green isn’t reviewing this, I’m guessing
Updated On: 7/20/25 at 08:37 PM
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