What Gen X woman has not jammed to Alanis Morissette's
Jagged Little Pill album? It’s such a centerpiece of nineties music. This album always takes me back to the first time I heard it. I had this friend whom I would go on long car rides with in the summer between freshman and sophomore year of college. (And then we’d go to this really good Greek fast food place each time.) She had just bought the cassette and started playing it for me. I was hooked right away, as it was so good. Of course, “You Oughta Know” was the first song she wanted me to hear. I got the cassette when I went back to college and listened to it all the time. It definitely reminds me of being in college whenever I hear it. I especially love the hidden track, as it’s so melancholy and it’s great to sing a cappella. My favorites are some of the B-sides, like “Wake Up” and “Not the Doctor.”
When I first heard about the musical
Jagged Little Pill, which featured the songs from that iconic album and a few others by Alanis, I knew I had to see it. I bought the original Broadway cast recording and listened to it often. My older son was also into the music and that got him liking Alanis Morissette. We could finally connect about
my music the same way
Rags to Riches and dining at Ed Debevic's made me appreciate my parents' music (but only a bit for that). So when it came on tour to DC, we got tickets and counted down the days. Showtime finally happened this past weekend!
We saw a Sunday matinee at the National Theater. The show was scheduled for 2:00, but it ended up starting at 2:30 due to some technical difficulties. Thankfully, they made an announcement or we would have been sitting there wondering what was going on. When the show finally started, it was well worth the 30 minute (and almost three-and-a-half year) wait. There was so much energy from the moment the ensemble started singing the opening number and it carried throughout the show.
While Heidi Blickenstaff was cast as Mary Jane in the National Tour, she was not performing when we saw it. However,
Bligh Voth was so incredible in the role that I didn't even miss Heidi. (That also happened when I first saw
Wicked and Shoshana Bean was playing Elphaba instead of Idina. Never underestimate an understudy!) She reminded me of Liz from
Shrinking in some ways. And her voice was gorgeous. I was just completely impressed by her the entire time!
Everyone in the show, from leads to ensemble, was just amazing.
Jade McLeod was so perfect as Jo and had such a powerhouse of a voice. They rocked "You Oughta Know".
Lauren Chanel was great as Frankie and gave a powerful performance, as well. I really liked
Allison Sheppard as Bella and
Dillon Klena also stood out as Nick. His brother, Derek, played that role on Broadway.
Rishi Golani did really well in the role of Phoenix. We even got to chat with him after the show and he was really nice.
I liked how everyone used the stage and props throughout the show. The furniture pieces were on wheels and the cast was able to move them around while performing. The set itself was mostly video screens that would move around to depict different scenery. I love how they worked it that way and sometimes it reminded me of the digital set in Mean Girls. The swing set that was occasionally brought on stage was cool and the actors could even sit on top of it.
The choreography was mostly interpretive as compared to most shows I've seen. Like the dancers were acting out what was happening in the story. The dancing overall was really good and definitely acrobatic. A lot of the time, there was so much happening onstage that I am glad I knew most of the songs already so I could focus more on the action and not have to worry about hearing the lyrics. Thankfully, they didn't change the lyrics from the cast recording and only shortened one song toward the end (which was more of a background song).
As for the story, I had no idea what this musical was going to be about. I heard bits and pieces here and there, but not enough to understand what was actually going to happen. The songs didn't give away any context aside from "You Oughta Know", which I knew that Jo was going to sing and that it was about Frankie leaving them for someone else. So I was completely surprised about everything that had happened and it wasn't predictable at all. I don't want to share much about it as to not spoil it for anyone else. If you're really that curious, you can look it up online. The show starts and ends with a Christmas card family update letter. That's all I will say. There is humor throughout the musical, even though the story is pretty heavy. I will share trigger warnings at the bottom of this post for anyone who wants to know what they are. Some aspects of this show made me think of Degrassi though.
There were some annoying audience behaviors that served as distractions. Like people getting up in the middle of the show to go to the bathroom. (We had thirty extra minutes before the show started and there was an intermission!) Or people talking and crinkling bags behind us. I noticed some people left halfway through and didn't come back. Perhaps the show was too woke for them?
Overall, it was a great production. I could feel the beat of the music in my seat on the mezzanine level. It was hard not to mouth the words of the songs so I'm glad I had a mask on. :) I'm glad I went in not knowing the story and it was easy to follow overall. (Although I did have to ask my son why they performed one of the songs a certain way.) If you are local and get a chance to see it in DC before it leaves next weekend, definitely check it out. If it is coming to a city near you, be sure to get tickets!
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TW: Rape, addiction, cyberbullying
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