JOY: A New True Musical, based on the life of businesswoman and inventor Joy Mangano, is set to begin previews Off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre June 21, but Playbill has an early glimpse at the show.

The musical, which will officially open July 20, stars Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe (& Juliet, Waitress) as Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop who created a business empire through television sales as a single mother. A film of Mangano's life starring Jennifer Lawrence, aptly titled Joy, was released in 2015.

Get an early glimpse at the musical version of Mangano's life above as Wolfe previews the song "The Shape of Things" in the Playbill Studio.

"I've been involved since, I want to say, 2019?," Wolfe recalls, thinking back to the very first time the musical was pitched to her via email. "I watched the film and I knew, immediately, that I wanted to tell this story. What she did was incredible, but the time at which she did what she did is what really, really intrigued me. What she was up against...I see so many similarities between Joy and myself. I didn't even understand them, then, back in 2019. But now that I have a daughter, I have to be honest, I just understand [Joy] and her willpower, her fight and her drive, so much more...I know what it means to be a mother, and the lengths you will go to to take care of your child."

Directed by Lorin Latarro Joy features a book by Tony winner Ken Davenport and music and lyrics by Tony nominee AnnMarie Milazzo,  with Andy Einhorn as music supervisor, and choreography by Emmy winner Joshua Bergasse. The musical is adapted from Mangano's memoir, Inventing Joy: Dare to Build a Brave and Creative Life, and played a world premiere engagement at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse in 2022. 

"The last workshop we did was when I put together that she invented the Miracle Mop in 1990. She was 35 years old. That was the exact same time when I started my business," Wolfe says, referring to her coaching service. "I think people forget that this story is not about a mop. I mean, the mop is how we all know her, and it is what put her on the map—but Joy was able to change her life because she had this ability to bet on herself time and time again, when every single person in her orbit said no...It was the 90s, when men were the ones that were getting to live out these things, and women were, at best, left to have stifled dreams. Joy is one of those women who paved the way for me to be able to do what I do. She cleared the way."

Joy will play through August 17. Visit JoytheMusical.com.