JOY Is Going to London (And Nobody’s More Surprised Than Me)

By Ken Davenport

Well, after a few sneaky teaser posts, we finally shared the news.

JOY is going to London.

This February, JOY: A New Musical makes its UK premiere at Southwark Playhouse Elephant.

I’ll admit it. I’m as surprised as you are.

Here’s what happened.

I go to London about once every six months . . . just to see what’s playing, take some meetings, and talk to people. London and Broadway have a real partnership, even with an ocean between us.

Every time I went over, people asked what I was working on. So I’d run down the list. And for whatever reason, I always mentioned JOY last.

That’s when their eyes would light up.

“You’re interested in JOY?” I’d ask.

“Oh, we LOVE shows like that.” (Said in a british accent.)

Apparently they love the cheeky American family. The underdog. All of it.

So I started showing the show to people. And then Southwark Playhouse, an amazing, very hip theater, asked if we’d like to bring JOY to their space.

We jumped for joy. (Sorry. I had to.)

What London Is Getting

If you haven’t met her yet, JOY tells the true story of Joy Mangano, a single mom on Long Island who got fed up with a household chore, invented the Miracle Mop, and took a chance on herself by pitching it to QVC.

In 30 minutes on air, she sold 18,000 mops.

Eighteen thousand. In half an hour.

The show originally had its World Premiere in George Street Playhouse in 2022; then premiered Off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2025, with Betsy Wolfe as Joy. For London, my producing partner Sandi Moran is taking the lead as producer, with music and lyrics by AnnMarie Milazzo, direction by Lorin Latarro, choreography by Joshua Bergasse, Andy Einhorn with the orchestrations, and me on the book.

Casting for the UK premiere will be announced soon.

Joy herself said it best: “If audiences leave with more joy in their hearts and bigger dreams in their minds, then that’s the real magic!”