Preview: JAGGED LITTLE PILL at Center Stage
Morrisette's Album Musical Coming Soon to Center Stage
It is now thirty years since Alanis Morissette released her album "Jagged Little Pill," but its musical theater incarnation is just about ready for Santa Barbara. As a theater company dedicated to contemporary musicals, Out-of-the-Box, selected the show for inclusion in its season because of its iconic songs and the musical's strong storytelling.
I spoke with Out-of-the-Box's founder Samantha Eve was in the midst of directing the show when she shared the challenges of staging a Broadway show like "Jagged Little Pill" in the dimensions of Center Stage’s more intimate setting. “The show opened in New York just before COVID hit,” Eve explained. “It never really had the opportunity to reach its full audience. Doing it here, in Center Stage’s black box space, gives us a chance to focus on the human dimension of the story—the closeness, the quiet moments.” A rock concert at the scale of a family therapy session.
The family in question, the Healys, face problems common to American society. The mother, Mary Jane, suffers from an opioid addiction she picked up after an injury, while the father tries to lose himself in his work. And then there are the teenagers: an adopted daughter troubled by the racial and wealth disparities around her, and the son who is not quite up to the challenge of being the golden boy and family savior. The emotional weight of songs like “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and “Ironic” demands characters with big demons to exorcise. Eve describes how the new context reframes Morrisette's signature tunes: “these familiar songs acquire new layers of meaning. You hear the lyrics differently when they’re tied to characters struggling to be honest with themselves.”
The closeness of Center Stage Theater, with seating for just over a hundred, promises to heighten the audience’s sensitivity to the truthfulness of the performances. “It’s a space that demands honesty,” Eve says. “There’s no place to hide, for the characters or for the audience.” A rock concert where everyone has a front-row seat.
Jagged Little Pill will be performed over two weekends, Friday through Sunday, November 14 through 16 and November 21 through 23 at Center Stage.
Love Theater in Santa Barbara? Join The Community!
Whether you've got past experience writing about theater or just starting, the BroadwayWorld Community offers a unique opportunity to become a champion for your local arts community, helping raise awareness of local offerings and adding another local voice to the conversation at a time arts coverage is shrinking in the press across the continent. Join us and become a pivotal part of the movement that celebrates and promotes the arts in the digital age.
Learn More
|
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (6/11-7/03) |
|
Jack Johnson Santa Barbara Bowl (10/03-10/03) |
|
Number the Stars San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (1/15-1/24) |
|
Murder For Two Rubicon Theatre Company (5/12-5/30) |
|
Ubu's Other Shoe Staged Reading: Nickel & Dimed San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (4/23-4/24) |
|
The Father: A Tragic Farce The Father: A Tragic Farce (8/28-9/13) |
|
The Lehman Trilogy Rubicon Theatre Company (3/24-4/11) |
|
John & Jen Rubicon Theatre Company (2/10-2/28) |
|
Ubu's Other Shoe Staged Reading: The Vertical Hour San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (9/18-9/19) |
|
Three Tall Women San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (5/07-5/23) |