by Mike Hoban
Jagged Little Pill – Music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard; Lyrics by Alanis Morissette; Book by Diablo Cody; Additional Music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth; Directed by Diane Paulus; Scenic Design, Riccardo Hernandez; Costume Design, Emily Rebholz; Lighting Design, Justin Townsend; Sound Design, Jonathan Deans; Video Design, Finn Ross; Music Director, Bryan Perri; Music Supervision, Orchestrations and Arrangements, Tom Kitt; Choreography, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Presented by the American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge through July 15
When I first heard Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” on my car radio when it was released in 1995, it nearly blew a hole in my speakers. It was the kind of raw, unhinged fury that I mostly heard in late 70’s punk clubs or on college stations, but here it was on commercial radio, sung by one very pissed off, very young woman (19 years old) no less. It was a revelation then and it inarguably still stands as the single most magnificently rageful song in popular music. When a string of hit singles from the album were released, we got to experience a more thoughtful, almost spiritual side of Morissette. The album became not only one of the best-selling albums of all time – selling 33 million copies – but also something that spoke to a generation of young women while appealing to a broader audience.
That being said, it is hard to imagine that anyone, at any point, could have ever thought to themselves, “You know what? This album would make a great Broadway show!” At least until someone suggested the idea to Diane Paulus, who stands to look like a visionary for bringing this to the stage. Although there are no immediate plans to go to New York, it’s hard to imagine that this show will not follow that route (with some tuning up), and based on the opening week performance of Jagged Little Pill, there’s also no reason to believe that this will not further cement Diane Paulus’ legacy as a certified hit maker. Jagged Little Pill has what most modern musicals lack – great songs combined with a compelling book (courtesy of Diablo Cody, who won an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, for Juno in 2008). The production makes for a stunning night of entertainment – even with the heavy dose of serious social commentary in the storylines.
Interestingly, the theme of the story does not spring from one of the hits, but most probably from the song “Perfect”, a state of being that describes what protagonist Mary Jane Healy (Elizabeth Stanley) is constantly striving for and is viewed as having by those who don’t know the truth. The story opens with Mary Jane, joined on the couch by her husband and two kids, composing one of those insufferable letters that folks used to inflict on friends and family at Christmastime before Facebook was invented to let the world know just how amazingly amazing their lives are.
But we quickly learn that their “perfect” family – like most “perfect” families – is a myth. Dad Steve (Sean Allan Krill) is a workaholic/porn enthusiast, and Mom has developed an addiction to painkillers. Frankie (Celia Gooding), a 16-year old African-American girl who was adopted by the Healys as a baby, is a social justice warrior, who, unbeknownst to her parents, is in a romantic relationship with her best girlfriend, the gender-fluid Jo (the scene-stealing Lauren Patten). The perfection banner is being passed on to Mary Jane’s son, Nick (Derek Klena), who has just gotten into the college of his choice and is the archetype American Dream kid (‘A’ student, athlete, cello player, etc.).
The story follows Mary Jane’s addiction challenges, but also throws in a number of other storylines, including a teenage alcohol-fueled rape and a #MeToo response, references to climate change and a host of memes guaranteed to have your Fox News watching uncle heading for the exits. But the show isn’t overly preachy, and despite its heavy themes, is often insightfully funny, such as when Mary Jane is obsessively changing clothes to find the right look for her Soul Cycle session and sings, “I gather my hair into a knot – just like my feelings”.
But what is most remarkable about the production is how the music from the album (there are new songs added as well) is so easily blended into the narrative – the songs rarely feel shoehorned into the storyline. So the classic numbers like “Hand in my Pocket”, “Head Over Feet” and the grammatically grating but amusing “Ironic” actually serve a purpose (the scene with “Ironic” is a howl). The performances of the songs by the cast are well-interpreted – and the explosive rendition of “You Oughta Know” brought the breathless audience to its feet. (I won’t tell you who delivers it, but you’ll probably guess by intermission.)
The characters are also fairly well drawn for a musical, in that they aren’t one dimensional even though they’re somewhat stereotypical, and the difficulties in the relationships don’t take the side of one character over another. Is Steve a work and porn addict because Mary Jane is emotionally detached? Or is Mary Jane emotionally detached because Steve’s addicted to work and porn? Fittingly, we never find out, because just like real life, everything’s not that black and white.
The creative team has done some astounding work putting this show together, and the band rocks uner Tom Kitt’s musical supervision. The choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is wildly energetic and the rapid-fire set changes are a work of art in of themselves. Paulus elicits some terrific performances from the cast, most notably newcomer Gooding and Patton, who delivers most of the shows one-liners and kills it in her two featured numbers.
This is also exactly the type of musical that we need to draw a younger generation into the theater – maybe this will be this generation’s Rent. On the night I attended, the audience was skewed to a much younger demographic, so the lobby didn’t look like God’s waiting room as it will when the summer revival shows get rolling in a few weeks. For tickets and information, call the box office at 617-547-8300 or visit www.americanrepertorytheater.org.
