Gabriela Carrillo and Paul Whitty Join Joy: A New True Musical

Gabriela Carrillo and Paul Whitty have joined the cast of Joy: A New True Musical, opening off-Broadway this summer at the Laura Pels Theatre. The show will have an eight-week run from June 21 through August 17 with an official July 20 opening. 

As previously announced, Betsy Wolfe will lead the cast as Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop. Carrillo and Whitty will play Ronni and Cowboy Eddie, respectively. The cast also features Jill Abramovitz as Joy’s mother Toots, Honor Blue Savage as Joy's daughter Christie, Adam Grupper as Rudy, Mauricio Martinez as Tony and Charl Brown as Dan.

Joy features a book by Tony-winning producer Ken Davenport, music and lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award nominee AnnMarie Milazzo, music supervision and arrangements by Andy Einhorn, choreography by Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse and direction by Lorin Latarro.

The creative team also includes Anna Louizos (scenic design), Tina McCartney (costume design), Yael Lubetzky (lighting design), Daniel Lundberg (sound design), Tony Award nominee David Bengali (projection and video design), Darion Matthews (hair and wig design) and Jillian Zack (music director).

Joy is based on Mangano's autobiography Inventing Joy and the 2015 film Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence. The show debuted in 2022 at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse starring Erika Henningsen.