"Jagged Little Pill" is raw like a fresh wound, but it's also moving and thrilling.
Review: 'Jagged Little Pill' leaps from moody album to banging musical at the Orpheum
Diablo Cody's story is a natural fit for the Alanis Morissette album from which the musical draws its songs.
August 9, 2023 at 5:00PM
The Broadway tour opened Tuesday at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre in a viscerally absorbing production by Diane Paulus. With a narrative crafted by former Twin Citian Diablo Cody around Alanis Morissette's 1995 breakout album of the same name, "Pill" packs an emotional punch, with songs such as "Forgiven" and "You Learn" bringing down the house with their deepened meaning.
Well-crafted and -executed, "Pill" boasts poignant and pulsing performances. The musical's up-to-date themes and glib, sometimes sardonic, style make it totally of the moment. It's almost as if Morissette wrote the songs, some rearranged by "Next to Normal" Tony-winning composer Tom Kitt, for the show instead of this being a jukebox musical.
"Pill" orbits the Healys, a prototypical family dealing with cascading crises beneath a happy Christmas card picture. Workaholic dad Steve (Chris Hoch) is clueless about the fact that his wife, Mary Jane (Heidi Blickenstaff), has become addicted to pain meds after a car accident. He knows that something is wrong since they're in a sexless marriage.
Controlling and hyper-competitive, Mary Jane celebrates the academic achievements of son Nick (Dillon Klena) even as daughter Frankie (Lauren Chanel), an alienated Black girl adopted by a white family, grapples with her sexuality. Things come to a head after the kids' schoolmate Bella (Allison Sheppard) is sexually assaulted.
"Pill" takes place on an efficient, spare set with the frame of a house outlined in lights, a sofa floating in and out and a playground swing. The six-piece band, led by keyboardist Matt Doebler, is elevated at the back of the stage.
Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, who also creates dances for Beyoncé, has crafted explosive group movements that reveal the emotional turmoil of the characters. Expressive and occasionally indulgent, it sometimes makes the show feel like we might be on the set of a music video.
It is strange, at times, to hear Morissette's songs recontextualized and in different keys from the original. And the vocal choices are not always that great. But the cast pours a ton of heart into the show, and they give great dimension to the music.
Blickenstaff nails the addict mom, taking us into the pain behind the "Smiling." As Nick, Klena hints at the shadows behind his seemingly being "Perfect." And Frankie gets the energy going with her spirited "Wake Up" protest.
Their palpable performances make this "Pill" a thrill even as it deals with some things that are admittedly bitter.
'Jagged Little Pill'
Who: Book by Diablo Cody. Music and lyrics by Alanis Morissette. Directed by Diane Paulus.
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun.
Tickets: $40-$139. hennepintheatretrust.org.
Advisory: Recommended for ages 14 and up.
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