Interview: Leda Hoffmann of JAGGED LITTLE PILL at The Contemporary Theatre Of Ohio

Leda Hoffmann, the producing artistic director of The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio, has discovered Alanis Morissette is quite the conversation starter. When she mentions she is directing JAGGED LITTLE PILL, a musical that will run Sept. 17-Oct. 4 at the Riffe Center (77 S. High St. in downtown Columbus), people want to talk.

The show is already experiencing record presales for A Contemporary Theatre of Ohio production.

“A lot of people came up to me, going ‘Oh my gosh, that was the first album I owned’ or I heard a song from it during this moment or that moment,” Hoffmann said. “I don’t have a great pinpoint moment like that.

“I’m half Canadian and I spent every summer growing up in Canada listening to the radio. Alanis was on there a lot. When I listen to these songs, they're all so ingrained in my head.”

In 1995, Morissette couldn’t find a record company willing to release JAGGED LITTLE PILL. It stood out against the pop confections of Hootie and the Blowfish, Backstreet Boys and TLC. With scorched-earth songs like “You Ought to Know,” the album went on to sell more than 33 million copies worldwide. The website going-postal.com described the record as “lavish helpings of adolescent angst, anger, bile and righteous indignation” and “the breakup album to end all breakup albums.”

“There’s a sound to her music that feels visceral,” Hoffmann said. “Alanis Morissette gets to the truth of what it feels like to be human. So many songs skirt around things or they're just like nice music to put on in the background. This is music that says, ‘Hey, this is who I am. This is what I want to sing about.’”

Those who head to JAGGED LITTLE PILL expecting to see a jukebox musical will be in for a rude awakening. The show is not about the life and times of Morissette, nor is it a collection of vignettes that pull the audience from song to song.

The show, like its namesake, takes an unflinching look at the problems suburbia shields from view: addiction, sexual assault, racism and sexism. Mary Jane (Sabrina Lynn Gore) composes the annual Christmas letter that tries to turn the past year into a Currier and Ives painting: her husband (Justin King) got a big promotion at work; her daughter Frankie (Sammantha Robinson) is creating amazing art; and her son Nick (Tommy Sanders) received early acceptance into Harvard.

What she fails to mention is that her husband is addicted to porn and she is in the throes of an opioid dependency. The musical's depiction of addiction is particularly poignant for Hoffmann, who had an older relative who struggled to wean herself off opioids after a hospital stay.

“Many of us have these stories of people we know and love who are battling these super addictive drugs,” she said. “This musical does a great job of looking at one family’s experience with it. That allows us to have the conversation about the way the opioid crisis has hit and the different demographics that have been affected.”

Due to the intense conflict throughout the show, Intimacy/Violence director Jeanine Thompson helps the actors navigate scenes requiring both physical contact and emotional intimacy.

Hoffmann begins every rehearsal with a read-through of scenes from the play, and the cast discusses the effects of the issues on each actor. Often the actors share events from their lives that connect with what is being portrayed on stage.

“It's really important to me as a director that we have a rehearsal hall where everyone is communicating what they need to feel safe,” Hoffmann said. “(Thompson) helps them discuss how to dive into those things night after night, but then leave them at the theatre when they go home.”

The show also features Payton Fraser (Jo), David Hap Crimean (Phoenix), Tara Mastorakos (Bella) and Tanner Wink (Andrew), as well as a teen and adult ensemble. Cherelle Brown handles the choreography, while Jonathan Collura directs the five-person band.

While the music might be familiar, Hoffmann believes the audience will have a deeper theatrical experience than they would with a typical jukebox musical.

“You’re not going to see an Alanis Morissette cover band,” she said. “Instead of telling the cast, ‘This is the way Alanis sings it,’ we want the cast to think, ‘Why is this character singing this song at this moment?’ Often the song has an entirely different meaning in this world than it did when the album came out.”

JAGGED LITTLE PILL will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays Sept. 17-Oct. 4 at the Riffe Center Studio One. The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio will offer “Pay-What-You-Want” performances on Sept. 17-18 as well as a student matinee at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 23. Email abaker@thecontemporaryohio.org for information.

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