JOY: Yes or no?

[MasterThespian 2]

Posted: 6/3/25 at 7:44pm

My girlfriend is really intrigued by Joy. Should she be? Would love to hear what expectations/predictions are for this production.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/3/25 at 7:50pm

I am very skeptical of the material. I've heard a couple of the songs and they're... fine, if not very generic. But the writing team here makes me very dubious. AnnMarie Milazzo does not have any other musical theatre writing credits and Ken Davenport's theatre writing has been generally pretty poor. 

I have no doubt Betsy Wolfe will be wonderful, as she always is. 

Updated On: 6/3/25 at 07:50 PM

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 6/3/25 at 7:53pm

MasterThespian 2 said: "My girlfriend is really intrigued by Joy. Should she be? Would love to hear what expectations/predictions are for this production."

A musical about a mop, written and produced by Ken Davenport……you be the judge. 

[KarenValentine'sheadband]

Posted: 6/3/25 at 11:03pm

Like the film very much. Isabella Rossellini should have received an Oscar nomination at least. It's not just a story about a mop. I'm not a fan of the real life Joy who's on HSN. She's annoying to listen to but whatever. I'd go and see what the musical is like. 

[MarilynMonroeSmash]

Posted: 6/4/25 at 1:39am

It really was not good at George Street Playhouse a few years ago. Terrible book and boring music. Erika Henningsen was the only good part playing Joy. I do love Betsy though, so maybe I'll give it another try.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/4/25 at 12:29pm

Yeah, Ken isn't great but it's got a great cast and I have enjoyed listening to the songs. I love Betsy Wolfe, she can do no wrong and the tickets are reasonable everywhere. Looking forward. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 6/4/25 at 12:37pm

Ken Davenport REALLY needs an intervention to try and convince him to stick to just marketing -- and to STOP trying to write, direct, or lead produce any new projects.

Updated On: 6/4/25 at 12:37 PM

[raddersons]

Posted: 6/4/25 at 2:07pm

I think I have such trauma from Getting The Band Back Together I will never trust Ken Davenport again 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/4/25 at 9:57pm

MasterThespian 2 said: "My girlfriend is really intrigued by Joy. Should she be? Would love to hear what expectations/predictions are for this production."

No-none! KD is involved!

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 1:45pm

I know the show has been workshopped extensively since the first production at George Street Playhouse. That said, the initial reviews were pretty tepid. I found the review from TheaterMania which basically said there was a lot of work to do.

https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-in-joy-the-story-of-the-miracle-mops-creator-is-given-a-little-too-much-shine_94697/

Updated On: 6/5/25 at 01:45 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 2:44pm

I personally really enjoyed the movie, but the music and general vibe I'm getting is that the show is nothing like the movie, which really leaned into Joy's grit and felt like a character that didn't wuite resemble real life Joy at all (in a good way). 

Honestly I think Betsy Wolfe is fantastic so I'll probably catch it for her.

Can someone clue me in to why there's so much negativity towards Ken Davenport? I feel I'm out of the loop. 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 3:42pm

BroadwayGirl107 said: "
Can someone clue me in to why there's so much negativity towards Ken Davenport? I feel I'm out of the loop."

He has a reputation as somebody who talks big and presents himself as an industry leader but often has little to back it up, but beyond that, he's had a lot of questionable ventures. His Kickstarter scheme to ostensibly pay for the Spring Awakening revival's performance on the Tonys was brazenly misleading, presented as the sole way for the performance to happen but was in reality a badly hidden attempt to cover costs that had already been incurred and pay people back. His theatre writing credits are poorly received and his leading producing attempts are very spotty. He's padded his resume by signing on as a below-the-line producer on a lot of big productions. 

Really, his one unmitigated success was Once on This Island. 

Updated On: 6/5/25 at 03:42 PM

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 3:51pm

Kad said: 
Really, his one unmitigated success was Once on This Island."

I think an argument can also be made for A Beautiful Noise, which did respectable business on Broadway and is cleaning up on tour.

[always bway]

Posted: 6/15/25 at 7:26pm

inlovewithjerryherman said: "Kad said:
Really, his one unmitigated success was Once on This Island."

I think an argument can also be made for A Beautiful Noise, which did respectable business on Broadway and is cleaning up on tour."

 

Joy looks really interesting to me!  - it has a Waitress vibe (which I loved and saw many times), and Betsy Wolfe is always winning. I downloaded the Joy score- the music is stunning. Ann Marie Milazzo has been making other people's music better with her contributions for years, I am excited to see what she does on her own. 

also....FYI Beautiful Noise is apparently making a ton of $$$ on the road. People are loving it.

Updated On: 6/15/25 at 07:26 PM

[KarenValentine'sheadband]

Posted: 6/15/25 at 7:52pm

Kad said: "BroadwayGirl107 said: 

"Really, his one unmitigated success was Once on This Island."

Not Kinky Boots? 

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/15/25 at 7:56pm

always bway said: "inlovewithjerryherman said: "Kad said:
Really, his one unmitigated success was Once on This Island."

I think an argument can also be made for A Beautiful Noise, which did respectable business on Broadway and is cleaning up on tour."



Joy looks really interesting to me!- it has a Waitress vibe (which I loved and saw many times),and Betsy Wolfe is always winning. I downloaded the Joy score-the music is stunning. Ann Marie Milazzo has been making other people's music better with her contributions for years, I am excited to see what she does on her own.

also....FYI Beautiful Noise is apparently making a ton of $$$ on the road. People are loving it."

 I downloaded the Joy score- the music is stunning. 

 

I want to hear how stunning the music is - Where is it?

[always bway]

Posted: 6/16/25 at 8:42am

Robbie2 said: "always bway said: "inlovewithjerryherman said: "Kad said:
Really, his one unmitigated success was Once on This Island."

I think an argument can also be made for A Beautiful Noise, which did respectable business on Broadway and is cleaning up on tour."



Joy looks really interesting to me!- it has a Waitress vibe (which I loved and saw many times),and Betsy Wolfe is always winning. I downloaded the Joy score-the music is stunning. Ann Marie Milazzo has been making other people's music better with her contributions for years, I am excited to see what she does on her own.

also....FYI Beautiful Noise is apparently making a ton of $$$ on the road. People are loving it."

I downloaded the Joy score-the music is stunning.



I want to hear how stunning the music is - Where is it?"

I think I downloaded the album from Spotify? 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/16/25 at 12:21pm

Anyone else here in the non-moving line at the box office opening? It’s rainy and the weather makes my joints ache so after not moving one inch in the last 20 minutes, I’m going home. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 6/16/25 at 1:34pm

iluvtheatertrash said: "Anyone else here in the non-moving line at the box office opening? It’s rainy and the weather makes my joints ache so after not moving one inch in the last 20 minutes, I’m going home."

 

Wait!  You mean to say that a Kenny D. promo event is NOT running smoothly and as advertised??  Say it ain't so!!   

Has anyone actually been able to purchase a $19.95 ticket?

Updated On: 6/16/25 at 01:34 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/16/25 at 2:09pm

I've been seeing ads for this show for like a year, I'm numb to them and had no idea until today it's even here Off-Broadway.