Jagged Little Pill

I went to the theater again the other day and the show was fantastic! Here are my thoughts Jagged Little Pill the musical on Broadway:

What’s it about?

• Jagged Little Pill is a Jukebox musical set around the songs of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name.  
• It is about a seemingly perfect Connecticut family obsessed with outward appearances. A look just below the surface reveals that nothing is even close to perfect.
• The story is in line with shows like Rent, Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen and Next To Normal in that it touches on a number of contemporary hot button topics.  Themes include: opioid addiction, detox and rehab; rape, consent and the Me Too Movement; classism, racism and privilege; gender fluidity and identity questioning; peace, love and acceptance; and social media.  
• This show is DEFINITELY NOT for young kids.

Negative thoughts on Jagged Little Pill:  

Let’s get my controversial and sure-to-be unpopular views out of the way first.  I apologize in advance to all of those who are bound to vehemently disagree with what I am about to say. Try to remember: it’s JUST MY OPINION!

• I did not like any of the performer’s voices, including the much raved about Lauren Patten.  
• Patten’s rendition of “You Oughta Know” is dynamic and strong and heart-felt, but I felt it was over the top (sorry). Although teenage relationships do tend to be melodramatic and self-indulgent, this scene just took it a bit too far for me (sorry again).  

Positive thoughts on Jagged Little Pill:

Phew!  Now that that’s taken care of, here are the reasons that I love Jagged Little Pill:

the music and acting

• The ability of the performers to connect with their characters and Morissette’s songs is remarkable. Without exception, each actor expertly delivers intense emotion to the audience. This allowed me to concentrate less on the individual voices and more on the lyrics they sang.
• I love the harmonies of the musical arrangements. The company singing as an ensemble is powerful and moving (again, reducing the importance of individual voices)
• The band is often featured on stage and the musicians seemed to be really into the tunes they were playing.  Its fun to watch them jam if you can manage to avert your eyes from the main action!
• The passion, vulnerability and honesty of every single cast member captured me and did not let me go for hours (even after the show was long over).  

the writing

• Speaking of emotion, this is a really tough show to watch.  It is raw, and it does not back down for a second. 
• Diablo Cody is a brilliant writer. She crafted an interesting story with very well developed, three dimensional characters who are realistic and relatable. 
• Almost every song suited the story line perfectly, making this the best and most meaningful jukebox musical that I have ever seen.
• Just like Morissette’s music, the action is intense and filled with angst and anger.
• The plot is riveting and most of the audience sat silently throughout, save some audible gasps and sniffles.  The show’s running time of 2 1/2 hours did not seem too long, for a change.
• I love that Cody made fun of the song “Isn’t it Ironic”. As we all know, the anecdotes in this song aren’t really ironic…they are just shitty things that happen to people 😜.
•  There are many other really funny part in this show.  Where other shows (like Tootsie) have patronizing, canned laughs (again, JUST MY OPINION!), Jagged Little Pill delivers dry humor with deadpanning and sarcasm.  I laughed out loud several times, which I rarely do.
• Intermission brought a collective exhalation and relaxing of shoulders from the audience. I found it difficult to gather my thoughts to form a coherent sentence: the most I could get out was “WOW!” 

the choreography and dancing

• Choreographer Sidi Labri Cherkaoui did an amazing job using interpretive dance to tell a big portion of the story.
• The dancers, especially the two principals, are phenomenal. They are so expressive in the ways that their bodies moved. It was beautiful to watch and brought forth so much drama and emotion.

more

• The sets are modern, clean and simple, a metaphor for how the family looks to people on the outside.  The costumes, choreography, music and dialogue display the chaos that lies underneath. 
• This show was great and I highly recommend seeing it!

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on Jagged Little Pill, please check out these other theater reviews:

• Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
• Harry Potter and The Cursed Child On Broadway
• We Will Rock You