DISCLAIMER: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
When I saw this show in February, I didn’t know anything about it other than the fact that it comprised the music of Alanis Morrisette. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect tears streaming down my face at curtain call. While it was a mere 30 degrees outside by the stage door, I was shivering not from the cold atmosphere, but from the chills the show gave me.
Jagged Little Pill is a rock musical inspired by Alanis Morrisette’s 1995 album of the same name with music by the Canadian artist and Glen Ballard. The musical was written by Juno writer Diablo Cody, and directed by Diane Paulus (Pippin, Waitress). Jagged Little Pill made its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA on May 5, 2018.
After the electric-guitar heavy overture, the show opens up with the living room of your typical suburban middle-class family: the Healys. Mary Jane, or MJ, Healy (Elizabeth Stanley) writes the yearly family Christmas letter, which consists of mentioning her husband Steve’s (Sean Allan Krill) job promotion, her daughter Frankie’s (Celia Rose Gooding) art, and her son Nick’s (Derek Klena) early admission to Harvard University.
What is not written in these yearly Christmas letters is the secret that MJ hides from the rest of the world, including her family: her addiction to painkillers from a car accident. Her marriage to Steve is becoming more and more distant every second. At 16, Frankie feels alienated by her mother’s “colorblindness” of her racial identity, given the fact that she is the black adoptee of an all-white family in an all-white community. Frankie also explores her sexuality when dealing with a friends-with-benefits situation with her best friend Jo (Lauren Patten) after meeting the new kid in class, Phoenix (Antonio Cipriano). Nick continues to feel the pressure on himself as the golden child of the family after his admission to Harvard. The family continues to fall apart after Nick’s friend Andrew (Logan Hart) rapes a friend of the Healy children, Bella (Kathryn Gallagher) at a party.
While all of these subplots may seem too much for a two-act show to handle, Jagged Little Pill introduces each issue in a way that it is almost seamless: they acknowledge that the audience knows much about the world around them, and the issues that arise in society today. Jagged Little Pill addresses these issues in a way that instigates conversations about topics like opioid addiction, rape culture, sexual identity, gender identity, racial identity, and the list goes on.
There are multiple stand-out moments throughout the show, a.k.a. the moments that made me either burst into tears or made me want to applaud at the performers for hours on end. At the end of the first act, MJ goes to church to reflect and pray upon her crumbling marriage, her broken relationships with her children, and for help with her addiction. MJ blames herself for a previous incident that happened to her in college, for which she thought that it was God’s plan for her, and cue “Forgiven.” The entire ensemble’s performance during this number was a powerful yet emotionally raw way to end Act 1, as it represents a turning point in MJ’s addiction.
This review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Lauren Patten’s performance in “You Oughta Know.” Patten’s character Jo ends the relationship with Frankie with this song, and as soon as the song finished, every audience member in the house rose to their feet to give Patten a minute-long standing ovation, complete with yells and whoops. The emotion, angst, and vulnerability that were shown in this one performance almost felt as if we were invading Jo’s privacy, which gives more power to Patten for her extraordinary performance as a person exploring their queerness and identity.
Another show-stopping moment in the show was “No,” in which Frankie organized a rally for Bella not only to give her justice, but also to raise awareness of sexual assault. The chorus repeats “What part of ‘no’ do you not understand?” and it is incredibly important for Jagged Little Pill to tell this story in a time where more and more people are being accountable for their actions, and the recognition of rape culture affecting all people, not just those who identify as victims.
When the term “jukebox musical” comes to mind, you probably immediately think of Mamma Mia! or American Idiot. While Jagged Little Pill is not considered as your typical “jukebox musical,” you find that you are touched by the story of these characters, and the music and songs lifts the voices of these characters up rather than the performances of these songs are a way of glorification for the artist (though Alanis Morrisette is one hell of a writer).
Overall, this is a show I would see over and over again if I could. This story is about communication and having that sense of connection between your loved ones. While life may have its rough patches, in the words of the cast during the finale number, “You live, you learn. You love, you learn. You cry, you learn. You lose, you learn.”