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Abigail December 6th, 2019
Alanis Morisette's seminal album, Jagged Little Pill, has finally received the musical adaptation it needed! But, what did the critics think of the latest 'jukebox' musical to land on Broadway? Find out in our review round-up!
The New York Times was full of praise for the production saying, "With 'Jagged Little Pill' they finally fixed the Jukebox". They continued with, "'Jagged Little Pill' never feels like a coy concert or a greatest hits medley...Rather, it feels like a summation: of our world's worst ills but also the way song can summon resistance to them. That may make 'Jagged Little Pill' the first jukebox musical to truly make sense of its genre. Joyful and redemptive as it is at times, the show's strength comes from the dead seriousness of its one presiding voice, filtered through the characters who are more alike than their shame lets them know."
Rolling Stone said, "the production wears its earnestness on its sleeve. But it does it so honestly and openly that I forgive it. It's like a spoiled teenager you want to throttle for being so self-involved and whiny but can't quite reject because of its enthusiastic beauty and unspoiled passion... Jagged Little Pill is that essential bitter medicine that... must be swallowed and enjoyed so we can be cured."
The Guardian called the new musical "hugely entertaining" and said, "Alanis musical hits Broadway with a bang". The Hollywood Reporter said "there are thrilling emotional peaks and urgently relatable contemporary issues that should generate a passionate audience for Jagged Little Pill among young theatergoers who responded to musicals like Next To Normal and Dear Evan Hansen" continuing with "[the creative team] deserve credit for breaking the Juke Box mold and building a story that wrestles with real feelings and takes a stand against complacency."
Like what you've read? Book tickets to Jagged Little Pill here!
The story follows a family on the brink. Seemingly happy on the surface, each of the wealthy Healy family's members hide their own dark secret. Matriarch Mary Jane keeps her emotional trauma and relationship with her husband Steve at bay by popping pills, whilst he deals with their lack of connection and pressures of work with an addiction to porn. Their overachiever son Nick's moral compass goes awry when his best friend is accused of rape and their adopted daughter Frankie struggles with racial and identity politics whilst coming to terms with her blossoming sexuality.
As their struggles entangle, the family's blatant denial of their problems, save for the rebellious wild child Frankie who rails against them in short shorts and protest picketing, begins to mirror the denial of their community at large when it comes to rape culture, addiction and self-expression. For all its topical turmoil, Jagged Little Pill brings as much heart to proceedings. It's bold, arena-sized storytelling, nuanced characterizations and Morissette's alt-rock wisdom are immediately refreshing and make for compelling theater.
Jagged Little Pill is now playing at the Broadhurst Theater.
It easily clears the low bar of jukebox success to stand alongside the dark original musicals that have been sustaining the best hopes of Broadway in recent years
The New York Times
