Brandon Espinoza Joins Betsy Wolfe, Paul Whitty and More in Joy: A New True Musical

Brandon Espinoza has joined the cast of Joy: A New True Musical as Tony. He replaces the previously announced Mauricio Martínez, who leaves the production for personal reasons. The show will have an eight-week run at the Laura Pels Theatre from June 21 through August 17 with an official July 20 opening.

Espinoza, whose credits include Spongebob SquarePants, Tuck Everlasting and Gypsy, joins Betsy Wolfe as Joy Mangano, Gabriela Carrillo as Ronni, Paul Whitty as Cowboy Eddie, 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.

Completing the cast are Jaygee Macapugay as Lorraine and ensemble members Dana Costello, Ryan Duncan, Gaelen Gilliland, Sydni Moon, Manuel Santos, Brian Shepard, Allysa Shorte, Lael Van Keuren and Alan Wiggins. Swings for the production are Briana Brooks, Nora Mae Dixon, Michał Kołaczkowski and Jerome Vivona.

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.