Jagged Little Pill (musical)
Jagged Little Pill is a jukebox musical with music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, and book by Diablo Cody, with additional music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth. The musical is inspired by the 1995 album of the same name by Morissette and deals with pain, healing, and empowerment.[1][2] It premiered at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 5, 2018, directed by Diane Paulus.
Jagged Little Pill
- Alanis Morissette
- Glen Ballard
- Michael Farrell (additional music)
- Guy Sigsworth (additional music)
Alanis Morissette
Jagged Little Pill
by Alanis Morissette
May 5, 2018: American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, Massachusetts
The show began previews on Broadway in November 2019, but closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on October 21, 2021, and closed on December 17, 2021. For the 74th Tony Awards, Jagged Little Pill won two awards on 15 nominations, the most nominations of any show of the 2019–20 season. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Adaptations[edit]
Novelization[edit]
A young adult novel adaptation was announced in Rolling Stone on December 9, 2021,[49] and was released on April 26, 2022, by Abrams Books,[50] written by Eric Smith in collaboration with the show's creators.
Controversy[edit]
In the original world premiere production at the American Repertory Theater, the character of Jo was nonbinary, and portrayed by Lauren Patten, a cisgender woman. During the original production, Patten confirmed the use of they/them pronouns for the character and referred to them as nonbinary and genderqueer on multiple occasions. Although the character's sexuality was never explicitly stated, there were multiple references to Jo being nonbinary.[51]
But when the show transferred to Broadway, the show openly referred to Jo as a cisgender woman.[51] In a 2020 interview, Patten said, "Jo never was written as anything other than cisgender".[52] In April 2021, debate and backlash ensued on social media. The change in Jo's character was viewed as an example of the underrepresentation of trans and nonbinary people on Broadway.[51] Despite this, following her Tony Award win for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Patten thanked her "trans and nonbinary friends".[53]
On September 18, 2021, lead producers Vivek Tiwary, Arvind Ethan David and Eva Price apologized for changing Jo's gender identity and for not listening to feedback.[54] In their statement, the producers acknowledged their mistakes as they "set out to portray a character on a gender expansive journey without a known outcome".[54] The show hired a new dramaturge to revise the scripts, and pledged to cast actors to play Jo who are on their own gender journeys.[55]
Canadian actor Jade McLeod, who identifies as nonbinary, was cast as Jo in the North American tour of Jagged Little Pill.[56] The character was re-established as nonbinary, with McLeod reporting being given some freedom to reimagine the role.[57]
Critical reception[edit]
Cambridge production[edit]
The New York Times called the Cambridge production "[p]assionate, dramatically compelling, and big-hearted...Jagged Little Pill breaks the jukebox musical mold, and takes on the good work we are always asking new musicals to do: the work of singing about real things."[58] A New York Times feature story published on May 20, 2018, called the show's story, "steeped in hot-button issues like opiate addiction, gender identity and sexual assault", "very much of the present", and said the show "may just be the most woke musical since Hair."[59]
Bob Verini of Variety wrote, "Not since Rent has a musical invested so many bravura roles with so much individual life...It's a risky business, making a musical not from a story demanding to be told but from a set of songs merely available to be used. Jagged Little Pill triumphantly avoids the pitfalls. Always engaging, often moving and even rousing, the show boasts dramatic interest and integrity on its own theatrical terms, courtesy of director Diane Paulus, first-time librettist Diablo Cody, and that peerless, soulful balladeer of the modern Western condition, Alanis Morissette."[60]
Broadway[edit]
The Broadway production of Jagged Little Pill opened to positive reviews. The New York Times called the musical "redemptive, rousing and real ... Jagged Little Pill stands alongside the original musicals that have been sustaining the best hopes of Broadway".[61] Praising the show's score, Variety wrote, "Morissette’s youthful perspective and the rocking-good score make Jagged Little Pill feel very much of the moment".[62] Rolling Stone awarded the production four out of five stars, writing that although the show feels "overly 'woke'" at times and "wears its earnestness on its sleeve", Jagged Little Pill burns with passion ... and enthusiastic beauty."[63] The show was nominated for 15 Tony Awards.[64]
2022–2023 North American Tour[edit]
Of a January 2023 performance at Providence Performing Arts Center, reviewer John McDaid wrote in BroadwayWorld that a "[s]tellar national tour brings Morisette's music to life" and called Jagged Little Pill "a powerful, moving production, superbly crafted and full of top-notch performances" and "a rare show: a jukebox musical that feels organic; a 'message' show that foregrounds authentic characters. Much of the credit goes to the excellent cast, who are intensely right there in the moment, at every moment. It's a powerful theatrical experience, a visual delight, and you absolutely will leave the theater singing."[65]