Review: JAGGED LITTLE PILL at The Fabulous Fox Theatre

The national tour of Alanis Morissette’s JAGGED LITTLE PILL opened at The Fox Theatre on Friday night for a short weekend run. JAGGED LITTLE PILL opened on Broadway just prior to the Covid pandemic shutdown. Following the shutdown, producers attempted to re-open the show in October of 2021, ultimately closing the show permanently in December of that year. The producers cited recurring Covid infections and safety for their cast and crew as the reasons for the shutdown. Likely the slow return of the patrons to the theatre had a significant impact as well.  

The original production of JAGGED LITTLE PILL was nominated for 15 Tony Awards and won two. The winners included Diablo Cody for Best Book of a Musical and Lauren Patton for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Cody is the Oscar winning writer who penned the Original Screenplay for her film “Juno." 

Broadway Veteran Diane Paulus directed the production and received a nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Paulus won the Tony for her direction of the circus-themed revival of PIPPIN. She was also nominated for her work as director on the revivals of HAIR and THE GERSHWIN’S PORGY AND BESS. 

Context is important when discussing the Tony nominations received by JAGGED LITTLE PILL and the two other eligible new musicals for the 2021 Tony Awards. In that year, all the nominations were split between the only three eligible productions with JAGGED placing multiple nominees in each of the acting categories, plus nominations in almost all of the technical categories. The 15-nominations ties JAGGED LITTLE PILL with THE PRODUCERS and BILLY ELLIOTT as the second most nominated musical in history. While JAGGED LITTLE PILL is well produced, the number of nominations overstates the quality of the piece. 

Considering the one-two punch of the powerhouse combination of Paulus and Cody, coupled with the music from Alanis Morissette’s Grammy winning album (five wins on nine nominations,) it begs the question was the short run of this musical a victim of the pandemic and unlucky timing, or is this a production that was simply a misfire? 

Jukebox musicals often have a tough time finding an audience because of the sheer number that are ill conceived. It is not uncommon for producers to mount a jukebox show with a thinly written book with uninspired set design and technical work to take advantage of filling seats with the fans of a popular music artist. To date, there are three jukebox musicals that have enjoyed extended Broadway runs and are truly exceptional pieces of theater: JERSEY BOYS, MAMMA MIA and BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL, combining for nearly 12,000 Broadway performances.  

The quality of this touring production of JAGGED LITTLE PILL sits somewhere in between. Even with low expectations going into this production, it was significantly better than expected. It has slick production design, strong performances, especially by the four actors playing the lead and featured female roles, interesting choreography, acceptable orchestrations for fans of the music, and a story that holds up with Morissette’s music fitting nicely, if not exactly advancing the plot.  

The talented cast is led by Julie Reiber as MJ Healy, the opioid addicted controlling mother. Reiber is fantastic and handles Morissette’s hard-edged anthems like a rock star. Teralin Jones (Frankie Healy), Jade McLeod (Jo), and Allison Sheppard (Bella), all equal Rieber’s incredible vocal performance with their exceptional delivery of the score. McLoed nearly brought down the house with their anger inspired performance as the heartbroken teenager singing “You Oughta Know.” This young Canadian actor delivers an emotional acting performance and has indelible stage presence.  

The men of the cast are passible in their roles with the best performance from Benjamin Eakeley as MJ’s husband Steve. Eakeley is a better actor than he is a singer. Dillon Klena plays the Healy’s son Nick. Klena is adequate in his role, but he lacked the vocal chops to stand up to the other actors in the production. There is a bit of doppelganger casting with the original Broadway company here. Klena is the brother of Broadway’s Derek Klena who played the same role in the original Broadway production. Finally, Rishi Golani (Phoenix) plays Frankie’s boyfriend. Jones and Golani have strong chemistry as smitten teenagers, but his singing voice has an odd tone, and his diction was unintelligible. The members of the ensemble are all exceptional dancers and provide strong vocal backing and keep the energy high throughout the production. 

The biggest issue taken with this production is that there is nothing particularly original about JAGGED LITTLE PILL. The technical elements have all been seen before. The book is incredibly similar to that of NEXT TO NORMAL, and the set design is almost a carbon copy. While the contemporary take on choreography is eclectic, and kudos to Shelby Finnie for her unbelievable contortions as MJ Avatar, we’ve seen this avant-garde contemporary rock movement many times (AMERICAN IDIOT, SCHOOL OF ROCK, SPRING AWAKENING.) The design aesthetic of this production (costume design lighting design, props, blocking,) has a familiar look similar to other shows with rock scores that have been seen in the past. Would it have been too much to ask for something completely original with the immense level of talent working on this project? 

It is very plausible that the Broadway run of JAGGED LITTLE PILL was cut short as casualty of the pandemic. Despite the criticism around its originality, it is an elegantly constructed show, with an interesting story, an energetic and talented cast, visually engaging choreography, and Grammy winning music. It is a must see for fans of Morissette’s music, and a should see for fans of musical theatre. While it is not among the best of the jukebox musicals, it is a better than average effort.  

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