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‘Jagged Little Pill’ Review: Hard to Swallow
6 / 10
All of which brings us to the Broadway transfer of 'Jagged Little Pill,' which originated at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., and whose marquee declares it to be 'inspired by' Alanis Morissette's grunge-flavored pop album about teenage love and life. Most of the songs, co-written by Ms. Morissette and Glen Ballard, come from the album, whose release in 1995 led Rolling Stone to dub Ms. Morissette 'Queen of Alt-Rock Angst.' The stage version, by contrast, is a cliché-prone chronicle of suburban spiritual emptiness whose book is by Diablo Cody ('Juno') and whose characters include a 'perfect' mother ( Elizabeth Stanley ) who is secretly addicted to opiates and her black, bisexual adopted daughter ( Celia Rose Gooding ), who is...well, angst-ridden. The results play like a cross between 'American Beauty' and 'Next to Normal,' and if that notion appeals to you, then you might enjoy 'Jagged Little Pill.' Me, I found it leaden with earnestness. Teen angst, lest we forget, isn't all that interesting when seen from the outside, which explains why the best fictional portrayals of the pain of adolescence have been satirical comedies like 'Daria' and 'Heathers.' And while Ms. Cody's issue-of-the-week book might work as a teleplay, it gains nothing from being used as a dramatic Christmas tree on which to hang the songs.
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