Jagged Little Pill - Reviews

[YvanEhtNioj]

Tonights the opening night!

Not since Beetlejuice do I think this board has been so divisive on a show. I personally really really enjoyed it and it didnt feel at all like a jukebox musical.

Anticipating mixed to positive reviews overall
 

[treblemakerz]

I'm also very interested to see what the reviews have to say about this one. I too personally enjoyed it a lot and would definitely put it among my favorites.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

I expect Lauren Patten to get raves across the board, but most critics will probably not go for this one. I think it resonates with young people most of all, and critics by and large, are not young. We shall see this evening, but I think we know mostly how this will go.

[n2nbaby]

I thought it was one of the worst musicals I’ve seen in years. I can’t imagine it getting great reviews, but hey, I’ve been shocked before.

Still expecting mixed to negative reviews.

[VotePeron]

I think the fact it’s making a lot of money each week will influence critics away from writing it off as a total misfire. I’m expecting raves for Lauren & Elizabeth, and I’m sure they’ll get some good pull quotes.

[bwayphreak234]

I thought the show was an atrocious mess of epic proportions, but I won't be shocked if the critics fall for this.

[mailhandler777]

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "I expect Lauren Patten to get raves across the board, but most critics will probably not go for this one. I think it resonates with young people most of all, and critics by and large, are not young. We shall see this evening, but I think we know mostly how this will go."

From what I heard and seen at the theatre it's more Gen X and the older millennials that are going to the show and not teens and young 20 somethings. We are the ones that grew up with Alanis' music or are around the same age as I am.

[Auggie27]

Morissette is 45; her fan base is approximately that demographic, but plenty of older theatregoers were in their late 20s to 30s and early 40s when her albums dropped, and know and love her songs. That's actually a better target audience, since 45-50 is more likely the group with disposable income. I don't see this show appeal to 30 and younger that much, which isn't a liability. 

Expecting mixed to positive as well. I had many problems with the book, the same ones everyone has documented in other threads, but think it'll be a success.  I (alone) think a spring opening would've served, since this doesn't feel like a show that will draw in that dark corridor -- Jan - spring break. It feels more spring - summer for initial momentum; But who knows? 

[mailhandler777]

Auggie27 said: "Morissette is 45; her fan base is approximately that demographic, but plenty of older theatregoers were in their late 20s to 30s and early 40s when her albums dropped, and know and love her songs. That's actually a better target audience, since 45-50 is more likely the group with disposable income. I don't see this show appeal to 30 and younger that much, which isn't a liability.

Expecting mixed to positive as well. I had many problems with the book, the same ones everyone has documented in other threads, but think it'll be asuccess. I (alone) think a spring opening would've served, since this doesn't feel like a show that will draw in that dark corridor -- Jan - spring break. It feels more spring - summer for initial momentum; But who knows?"

It does appeal to those younger than 30 also because the cast is young. Most of these guys are under 30 themselves but the majority of people I've seen at the show are in that 40-50 and even older range. 

[Miles2Go2]

I suspect solely based on reviews (I don’t see it until next month) on here that it’ll receive overall mixed to negative reviews. Likely, better than Head Over Heels and Summer, but not quite at the level of Tina. Probably closer to The Cher Show. Some great performances and music in a show with a problematic book.

[Auggie27]

Mailhandle, you’re probably right about the under 30s finding the show as it runs; it’s the only nostalgia musical that doesn’t call up boomer memories and can be reclaimed.

[mailhandler777]

Auggie27 said: "Mailhandle, you’re probably right about the under 30s finding the show as it runs; it’s the only nostalgia musical that doesn’t call up boomer memories and can be reclaimed."

Some already found it because of Derek,Kathryn and Laurel  previously being in shows that are based towards younger audiences. Pretty popular shows at that.

[mailhandler777]

Double post

[theaterdarling]

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "I expect Lauren Patten to get raves across the board, but most critics will probably not go for this one. I think it resonates with young people most of all, and critics by and large, are not young. We shall see this evening, but I think we know mostly how this will go."

I think praise for Lauren Patten will be qualified in any honest professional critique of the show. Sure she belted "You Oughta Know" quite forcefully, but it was belted in an utter void. That song had no business coming out of the mouth of that rather immature, thin character at that particular moment in the show. The  raw sentiments conveyed by this cri de coeur coupled with Patten's histrionics were apropos of nothing that was happening on that stage: a rather uninvolving melodramatic turn in Jo and Frankie's wildly bland and uninteresting high school relationship. I think the critics will award points off for this dissonant display even if a portion of the audience has been successfully manipulated by the pile of goo that was once a quite affecting song.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I really love the, shrewd, heart-wrenching simmer to boil rage of "You Oughta Know" so restrained yet unbridled, but it was just nails on the chalkboard squawked unconvincingly by an awkward teen in the context of this show. Sorry, but it so pissed me off and underscored so many weaknesses in the show.

[Auggie27]

(theatredarling, I agree 150% with you; expertly, persuasively argued; ours is an unpopular opinion. There's a contingent that believes this is "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going."

 

[Miles2Go2]

The Observer. Def not a rave. 
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/observer.com/2019/12/alanis-on-broadway-did-jagged-little-pill-get-sugarcoated/amp/

[Auggie27]

David Cote raises the very point many of us have raised:

"But all this talent founders on focus. Cody and Paulus fracture the feminine POV into four parts: Mary Jane, Frankie, Jo and Bella. I understand why they did this; it helps spread the weight of trauma and story, ward off bathos and an aftertaste of cliché. But it also dilutes the power of having a protagonist whose journey you follow with the sort of intensity and fidelity that provides the release that only comes, again, with the sheer, freaky force of “You Oughta Know.” Is this Mary Jane’s story? Often, it is—we want to know if she will become a statistic in the Oxycodone crisis. But isn’t Frankie our hero, a smart, fearless woman of color with divided loyalties? Queer and resilient Jo is hilarious and deep, and I could watch her all night. And Bella’s tragedy is horrific, yet she fades into the background, a ghostly victim. Too often you find yourself asking: Whose story is this?"

 

https://observer.com/2019/12/alanis-on-broadway-did-jagged-little-pill-get-sugarcoated/

[uncageg]

Theaterdarling, what show were you watching or not paying attention to. That song was placed at the right moment and her character had a right to sing it. I just don't get people saying it came out of nowhere, etc. It is quite evident why she is upset.

[Miles2Go2]

Wall Street Journal:

‘Jagged Little Pill’ Review: Hard to Swallow

[Auggie27]

What theatredarling is suggesting: the song may well fit with the character, but the character hasn't earned the weight of the song's emotional content. It's overheated and overwrought for our investment in this character. It's not enough that it "fits." temperamentally, it unleashes a torrent of feeling that doesn't match the earned stage time of this particular young woman. Yes, the song's lyrics can be justified. We get why she sings it, we get why she's so upset. But it's not her story (David Cote), and the song's size and operatic display are so disproportionate to what happens. A teenager falls for a guy. Her prior infatuation gets jealous. Okay. We get Effiie Melody White being cut out of her career.  It's too much, as Cote opines as well. Musical theater craft is about balance and relative weight in storytelling. This song's purpose in the storytelling has been misjudged, regardless of the actor's power and achievement. 

[Miles2Go2]

New York Stage Review

JAGGED LITTLE PILL: ALANIS MORISSETTE LAVISHLY BROADWAY-IZED By David Finkle ★★★★

JAGGED LITTLE PILL: EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE FINE, FINE, FINE By Jesse Oxfeld ★★★★

[Miles2Go2]

Double post 

[Miles2Go2]

The Wrap:

‘Jagged Little Pill’ Broadway Review: Alanis Morissette’s Classic Album Becomes a #MeToo Angst Fest

[jacobsnchz14]

https://variety.com/2019/legit/reviews/jagged-little-pill-review-broadway-musical-1203426365/

Variety is positive and says it shouldn’t be called a jukebox musical because the music feels organic to the story

[Miles2Go2]

The Guardian:

Jagged Little Pill review – Alanis musical hits Broadway with a bang 4 / 5 stars 4 out of 5 stars