The stage — especially in a musical — is uniquely positioned to showcase the importance of Joy Mangano’s Miracle Mop. 

Huh?

Hear Read me out.

In any production, it is imperative for the floor of the stage to remain a safe space. 

And I mean that literally, not figuratively. 

Purely from a practical perspective, any mess spilled on the boards must be immediately cleaned, to avoid injuring one of the moving bodies on stage. Particularly for musicals, debris is a turned ankle waiting to happen.

The first act of the new musical Joy — which tells the story of Mangano’s mop — seemingly leans into this risk. Drinks go flying across the hardwood in scene after scene, and the actors are tasked with janitoring them up.

Before Mangano invents her miracle, we watch them painstakingly wipe away every last drop, with the understanding that their continued livelihood IRL relies on their diligence. And lest you believe this ordeal is mere artifice, no stagehand rushes in during the dark of a transition to double check their work. It all falls on the ensemble and their supplies…

Which really emphasizes the efficient efficacy of Mangano’s device.