Courtesy of Playbill

Alanis Morissette’s 1995 debut album “Jagged Little Pill” has returned to the music scene, but now on Broadway. The cast and the story of the imperfect Healy family, along with Morissette’s incredible songwriting, show the importance of family and the understanding that everyone has perfect imperfections that make them unique. 

“Jagged Little Pill” tells the story of the Healy family, who present themselves as the “perfect family” with a perfect daughter and son. The curtains open to Mary Jane, the mother, crafting her annual Christmas letter to all of her friends and social acquaintances. As she writes, the Healys’ struggles and issues are revealed. Even though they act as if they are the ideal family, they actually are deeply broken and flawed. Mary Jane Healy struggles with addiction and her husband Steve is a workaholic. Their adopted daughter Frankie feels alienated from her family and constantly inferior to her Harvard-bound older brother, Nick. Though Nick is the “golden boy” of the narrative, he struggles with determining right from wrong when his best friend is accused of raping a girl from their school named Bella. The act concludes with Mary Jane, Bella and the rest of the female company singing “Forgiven” while they confront their guilt and shame surrounding rape as Catholic girls. In the second act, the Healy family comes to terms with their faults and imperfections, allowing them to become stronger individually and come together. 

From the leads to the chorus to the artistic team, “Jagged Little Pill” is magnificent. The standout performances most definitely came from Celia Rose Gooding (Frankie), Elizabeth Stanley (Mary Jane), Lauren Patten (Jo) and Kathryn Gallagher (Bella). With numerous opportunities to showcase their singing and acting skills, these female roles were also written to have greater character development than their male counterparts. Eighteen members of the cast, crew and creative team made their Broadway debuts, including leads Gooding and Antonio Cipriano (Phoenix). Gooding currently attends Pace University, where she is studying musical theatre, while Cipriano was a 2017 Jimmy Awards finalist. 

All of the leads debuted as their respective characters last year at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The core cast includes Stanley, Sean Allan Krill (Steve Healy), Derek Klena (Nick Healy), Gooding, Patten, Gallagher, Logan Hart (Andrew) and Cipriano. “Jagged Little Pill” began previews on Broadway on Monday, Nov. 4, and opening night is Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Broadhurst Theatre. 

As someone who is unfamiliar with Alanis Morissette’s iconic “Jagged Little Pill” album, I found myself greatly enjoying every aspect of this amazing production. It brings the life-changing stories written by Morissette to a new generation. “Jagged Little Pill” shares a story that needs to be told right now, so be sure to get your tickets before it closes on Sunday, July 5.