Review: Tesseract’s Boisterous JAGGED LITTLE PILL isn’t Hard to Swallow

Jagged Little Pill is a 2019 musical built around Alanis Morissette’s 17-time platinum album that sold over 33-million copies. The Tony winning book by Oscar winner Diablo Cody (Juno) tells the story of a family fractured by opioid addiction.

The musical, much like The Who’s Tommy and Green Day’s American Idiot, was based on a previously recorded work. While both Tommy and American Idiot enjoyed much greater commercial success, Cody’s book for Jagged Little Pill is far superior either of the aforementioned works.

In addition to opioid addiction, Cody’s dramatic writing also takes on transracial adoption, martial discord, sexual assault, and a nonbinary queer love story. There are many subplots, perhaps too many, that puts strain on the drug addicted protagonist’s family.

Jagged Little Pill premiered on Broadway just a few months prior to the pandemic shut down. The music reopened post-pandemic but succumbed to the slow audience return closing just two months later.

The original production was nominated for 15 Tony awards and won two. In that season there were just three other new musicals eligible for Tony consideration, Moulin Rouge, Tina, and The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.

The majority of Morrisette’s hit anthems, except for “You Oughta Know,” are performed by two lead characters, MJ (Mary Jane) Healy and her adopted daughter Frankie. Both Loren Goudreau as MJ and Kinya Kairigi as Frankie handle the familiar music with impassioned ease. They are fine actors who drive the story with dramatic tension and believable authenticity.

Kairigi, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University’s Dobbins Conservatory of Theater and Dance, is a magnetic standout making her St. Louis professional theater debut. She has a huge voice with rich tone and timber. Her phrasing is impeccable. She is charismatic and has an immense amount of chemistry with every actor in the cast. Director Brittanie Gunn has found an emerging star in Kairigi.

Gunn’s a proven narrative driven director who casts her shows with exceptional talent. The entire ensemble that Gunn has assembled for this production of Jagged Little Pill has exceptional acting, vocal, and dance abilities.

Milo Garlich wows as Jo, Frankie’s nonbinary love interest. Garlich, in the best stage performance seen from them to date, delivers a painful “You Oughta Know” in a near show-stopping performance. They convey Jo’s pain through their palpable portrayal of a teenager experiencing a first heartbreak. Anyone who has loved and lost can identify with Garlich’s likable and loyal Jo. It is a stellar performance from the young actor.

Up-and-coming Jabari Boykin and Lauren Tenenbaum deliver other notable portrayals and vocal performances. Boykin plays Frankie’s boyfriend Phoenix and Tenenbaum is rape victim Bella.

Boykin has convincing chemistry with Kairigi. His and her crush feels genuine and Boykin does excellent vocal work on “Ironic,” “That I Would Be Good,” and “Head Over Feet.” Boykin has shown substantial growth in vocal control since his last starring role in Superhero at Stray Dog Theatre.

Tenenbaum is an acting and singing powerhouse who absolutely slays her “Predator” solo. She conveys the rape victim’s shock, fear, shame, and anger. Her scene work with Stephen Henley is profound showing deep disappointment in her closest friend who witnessed her assault but did not stop it. Henley was equally adept at conveying his character’s moral complicity, guilt, and fear.

Gunn and the cast’s outstanding vocal work would not have been possible without Leah Schultz’s meticulous preparation as music director. Her strong leadership was apparent in her orchestra’s precision and balance, and in the casts polished vocal performance.

Choreographers Ella Drake and Ruben Medina’s solo numbers and duets of Modern interpretive dance and balletic jazz add layers of depth to Gunn’s storytelling. However, the young artists’ inexperience shows in the ensemble numbers that are often too busy. Drake and Medina’s interesting shapes dwarf and occludes the principal performers. A thoughtful edit using only a few of the chorus members onstage and leaving the remaining as offstage singers may have been a more effective use of the small black box space.

Todd Schaefer’s functional scenic design is reminiscent of the Broadway and touring company design but is scaled to fit the space. The band is literally housed in a neon outline of a roof top adorned with dormer windows that is effective collaboration between Schaefer and lighting designer Kevin Bowman.

Phillip Evan’s sound design is mostly audible but has opportunities for tweaks. There are times when lines are lost in the action and vocals aren’t completely distinct or discernible.

Jagged Little Pill is a heavy musical filled with topical adult themes. Gunn’s production is boisterous, unapologetic, engaging, and features some fierce performances of Alanis Morissette’s biggest hits. While the subject matter is weighty, Tesseract’s raucous Jagged Little Pill is not hard to swallow.

Jagged Little Pill closes on Sunday, July 26, 2026. There is still time to catch their remaining performances this weekend.  Visit tesseracttheatreco.org for more information.

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