I don’t know enough about Canadian pop diva Alanis Morissette’s music to be a fan, but I’m glad to hear that her musical Jagged Little Pill, inspired by her eponymous multi-award-winning 1995 rock album, I’d heard a lot of good things about ”, so I was excited for the Chicago premiere of the North American tour, which made a brief stop at the Nederlander Theater.
First piece of advice for theatergoers in a similar position: Listen to the album in advance, or better yet, listen to the original 2019 Broadway cast recording (available on YouTube). Because in this show, the lyrics are by Morissette and the music is mostly by her and Glenn. Ballard includes songs from her other albums and two of her songs written specifically for this production.
If you’re not familiar with these, you’ll miss at least half of the lyrics. This is especially true when it comes to numbers that crescendo into one of the many anthems. Great work by music director, orchestrator and arranger Tom Kitt and music director and conductor Matt Dobler, who led the excellent on-stage band on some 24 hit songs, including “You Oughta Know.” Despite this, ensemble work seems to be more difficult than solo work. “Head Over Feet,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and “Ironic.”
These are cleverly incorporated into Diablo Cody’s book, which addresses many social issues and ills far beyond the issue-centric movie of the week. In fact, it’s definitely too much, or more than enough to be a parody. One saving grace, however, is that there’s plenty of humor, including plenty of sitcom-worthy one-liners.
At the center of the story is the Healy family, a seemingly perfect suburban couple, Steve (Chris Hoch) and Mary Jane (Heidi Blickenstaff, reprising their Broadway role), and their seemingly perfect children, who are preparing for college. Nick (Dillon Klena) and his 16-year-old children. – His older sister Frankie (Lauren Chanel).
Steve’s annual Christmas letter from Mary Jane puts an end to this behavior and attempts to add a bright twist to their lives, but he soon learns that Steve and Mary Jane are estranged. Not only does he spend his 60 hours a week at the office and hardly ever sees his family, he is also addicted to internet porn. After MJ is injured in a car accident, she becomes addicted to painkillers and, unable to get prescription refills, begins buying drugs on the street. The person she’s most proud of is Nick, who just got accepted to Harvard, but the pressure she puts on him to be perfect takes a toll. Adopted Frankie feels ignored, and the fact that he is black in a white family makes things worse.
There’s more. Frankie comes out as bisexual to his parents, but his non-binary partner Joe (Jade McLeod) discovers him in bed with her new boyfriend Phoenix (Rishi Golani). If you tell your parents, you will pay a hefty price. Frankie instructs Nick to stay away from him and Frankie for fear of damaging the family’s reputation due to their attitude towards the sexual assault of Nick’s friend Bella (Alison Shepherd) at a house party. , enraged by their outrage over consensual sex. MJ’s attitude towards Bella’s attack has been addressed at length, but it’s all the more shameful since she too was assaulted in college (and she just couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone). Thing.
Naturally, the Healy family’s trauma culminates in MJ’s fentanyl-laced opioid overdose, but in the end everyone experiences changes that seem to improve. The scene in which MJ struggles with the dancer as his inner self is one of his most effectively directed by director Diane Paulus and choreographer and movement director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. In general, the gyration-heavy dances, as well as Emily Rebholz’s costumes, remind us of “Hair,” grunge, and, well, street hip-hop.
The acting and singing are strong, but the direction is quite frenetic. Except for some really nifty effects, such as the church scene. Particularly distracting is Justin Townsend’s lighting. A combination of neon bars and colored spots (sometimes shining directly into our eyes), it’s more reminiscent of a rock concert than a stage play.
Overall, I was happy to see Jagged Little Pill, but it’s hard to believe it was nominated for 15 Tony Awards. (The production won her two awards: Best Picture of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical.) That “more is more” approach is a no-brainer, unless you’re a Morissette aficionado, of course. Probably too much.