Ferocious performances, inspired direction, choreography make 'Jagged Little Pill' easy to swallow
“Jagged Little Pill” - ★ ★ ★
“Jagged Little Pill,” the musical based on Alanis Morissette's hit 1995 album currently running at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, opens with a smiling upper middle-class Connecticut family, posing for the photo that will accompany their annual Christmas letter. It's a picture-perfect image.
But the darkness that surrounds them suggests not everything is ideal in this fractured family. The striking visual from Riccardo Hernandez (sets), Justin Townsend (lighting) and Lucy MacKinnon is among the revealing visual metaphors that dominate a very good show centered around a seemingly ideal family grappling with addiction, alienation, anxiety and identity while also confronting racism and sexual violence.
That's a lot to pack into 2½ hours. Attempting to address so many issues makes for an overstuffed show that sometimes overwhelms. That said, “Jagged Little Pill” does jukebox tuners proud.
Credit rests in part with writer Diablo Cody, a Lemont native who provided a solid foundation for the credible family dramedy and earned a Tony Award for her efforts. Cody's writing has wit and compassion. The story feels organic, unlike typical jukebox shows that shoehorn unrelated songs into an artificial narrative.
Not so with “Jagged Little Pill” whose score is credited to Morissette and Glen Ballard with additional music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth. The music is defiant, disgruntled and determined, with many songs punctuated by a cri de Coeur that fans of the album will recognize. It's performed by a rocking octet suspended above the stage, whose enthusiastic playing obscured the lyrics of several numbers, including the opening.
The musical - which echoes “Next to Normal” and “Dear Evan Hansen” - centers on a family whose members are clearly under strain. Matriarch Mary Jane (Heidi Blickenstaff in a wrenching, richly textured performance) is a suburban supermom hiding an opioid addiction and a decades-old trauma, whose relationship with her husband has grown frosty.
Her workaholic husband Steve (Chris Hoch) has a penchant for internet porn. Harvard-bound son Nick (Dillon Klena) - the all-American teen - struggles from the pressure to be perfect. Adopted, African-American daughter Frankie (Lauren Chanel, youthful idealism personified) is a social activist keenly aware how out of place she is in this mostly white enclave.
Frankie has a girlfriend Jo (the superb Jade McLeod, a galvanic singer whose version of “You Oughta Know” stops the show). But she develops feelings for new kid Phoenix (Rishi Golani) after he stands up to classmates who pan Frankie's poem titled “Ironic” (a sly comment on criticism that has dogged the song for nearly 28 years).
Diane Paulus' shrewd, intuitive staging combined with explosive, kinetic choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, which brilliantly captures teenage angst and adult suppressed trauma (featuring a standout performance by dancer Jena VanElslander), makes for gripping theater. If you loved Morissette's record, or even if you didn't, this is a show worth seeing.
Location: James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000, broadwayinchicago.com
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through April 23. Also 7:30 p.m. April 16 and 2 p.m. April 19
Tickets: $35-$125
Running time: About 2 hours, 40 minutes with intermission
Rating: For adults, contains strong language, depictions of sexual assault and drug use
COVID-19 precautions: Masks recommended