Joy (c) Joan Marcus
Theater: Joy
At the Laura Pels Theater
Joy, the musicalized version of a Joy Mangano’s true life journey from struggling Long Island single mother to a QVC multimillionaire, rarely achieves the elated emotion synonymous with her name. It was also the tonal problem with David O’Russell’s 2015 movie version with the same title. Joy’s trial and tribulations before the admittingly happy ending of entrepreneurial success makes for a curious tale, but joy? No. However, like the movie version, there is a secret ingredient that makes the story engaging, and that is the actress playing Joy. Jennifer Lawrence received a surprise lone Oscar nomination for the film, providing a sympathetic portrayal of Mangano, which is the same quality the always engaging Betsy Wolfe (Mrs. Shakespeare in & Juliet) provides here. Ken Davenport and AnnMarie Milazzo, the show’s writers, do provide a musical comedy sheen over the story as Joy, always the problem solver, can’t figure out how to make her 1990’s life tenable when she loses her airline job and still has to run a household that includes her teenage daughter Christie (Honor Blue Savage), her ex-husband Tony (Brandon Espinoza), who lives in the basement, and her divorced parents (Adam Grupper and Jill Abramovitz). Only when she comes up with the idea of the Miracle Mop does any hope enter her life—but a woman with barely a savings account predictably runs into a lot of roadblocks, from the Connecticut men who run QVC to the company that manufactures the mops (Texan men, naturally) with barely any emotional support from her needy family, who has experienced too many of Joy’s crazy ideas.
Joy (c) Joan Marcus
Somehow Joy keeps her optimism (some would say foolishly) that ultimately leads to a finale in a courtroom, and while Wolfe really sells her best song, “A Better Way,” it hardly holds legal precedence. Still, the theme of a woman defying all odds to succeed, which was inspiring in 1990, is sadly a story that holds resonance today. Milazzo’s songs have a nice light pop quality to them, although not many stay in the memory for long. Davenport, who is mostly known as a producer, has funny moments in his script, but Joy’s journey to success seems to rely as much on good luck as it does the appeal of a multifunctioning mop. Director Lorin Latarro keeps a lot of balls in the air, and it’s thanks to her the plot is as clear as it could be. And she utilized her leading woman beautifully, giving Wolfe room to be funny, vulnerable and, yes, bitchy throughout. When she sings late in Act One, “Nothing’s gonna stop me/this Long Island girl has just begun,” Wolfe sells it to us as successfully as her character Joy sells those mops.
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Ginger Twinsies (c) Matthew Murphy
Theater: Ginger Twinsies
At the Orpheum Theatre
I have fond affection for the film The Parent Trap, but unfortunately for me, the parody comedy Ginger Twinsies is based on the 1998 remake starring the redheaded Lindsay Lohan and less on the original 1961 film starring blonde Hayley Mills. The general outline is the same: Two girls at summer camp discover they are identical twin sisters (one lives with their father in California, the other with their mother in London) and they plot to get the parents back together so they can be a family. Writer/director Kevin Zak wisely uses the plot as a jumping off point to include many giggle-inducing pop culture (mostly gay adjacent) references along the way. It’s the same formula that made Titanique such a hit. In the play, we’re at Camp Walden for Gworls where British Annie James (Russell Daniels in drag) and American Hallie Parker (Aneesa Folds) meet and decide to switch places in order to meet the other parent they never knew. Zak’s go-for-broke approach sadly only works sporadically, but when the jokes land, it is hysterical, like the recreation of the cerulean belt scene from The Devil Wears Prada and the occasional nods to Stomp, the drum musical that played for so long at this show’s home, the Orpheum Theatre. But the script is padded out with a lot of dirty talk and sexual innuendos that feels edgy at first but wears thin even at 90 minutes. The hard-working cast, most playing multiple roles, are a delight, with Phillip Taratula, especially when playing the gold-digging Meredith Blake, getting the most laughs. I know that I probably missed a lot of current references that the young audience members at my performance ate up, but that also means the shelf life of “Ginger Twinses” is not long. But for the time being, there are enough funny moments throughout the show for everyone to find something to enjoy.
Rolling Thunder (c) Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Theater: Rolling Thunder
At New World Stages
A jukebox musical about the Vietnam War and its effects on the Americans who fought in the war, as well as those at home who are protesting, would seem a few decades too late to move audiences, but the morality of war is still being debated now, with a different region as its focus, so revisiting one of the worst stains in America’s military history may be more relevant than I gave the show credit for. The oddest aspect of this show is that it started its theatrical life in Australia (who surprisingly were involved in Vietnam more than history books will credit them for), as it focuses mostly on three young American men who end up in the same battalion near Saigon. The story revolves around Johnny (Drew Becker) and Thomas (Justin Matthew Sargent), two white kids who volunteer to fight, and Andy (Daniel Yearwood) who is black and gets drafted. Their background as written by Bryce Hallett, is mostly generic with girlfriends and family back home that they write to during their year-long deployment, with non-specific talk of skirmishes and dealings with the Vietnamese people. (The title refers to what helicopters sound like on the ground.) The song choices from the Sixties are equally predictable, with most having been used in countless Vietnam movies like “Coming Home” and “Apocalypse Now.” Some of the songs, like “A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall” and “All Along the Watchtower” tonally work while others, like “Killing Me Softly,” is woefully used after someone dies, which is not what the song is about at all. Still, the talented cast of six sings the heck out of them, especially the anthem, “War,” but when director Kenneth Ferrone breaks out Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” it’s not because it feels germane to the plot, but because it was used so effectively in Oliver Stone’s “Platoon.” Those audience members who love these songs, wonderfully performed by a talented band that occasionally get the chance to do some impressive solo bits, will certainly enjoy the show. But those hoping for more insight on war and the damaged psyches that still lingers to this day may be left wanting.
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