Jagged Little Pill

Let me preface this review by admitting that I know fewer Alanis Morrisette songs than I thought, and this might contribute to my take of the musical. As a December 1989 baby, I was pretty young when this album was released, and I don’t think her lyrics featured at my Catholic primary school discos! I probably only heard them on the car radio or on my weekend recordings of Rage and Video Hits (that was a TIME!). But Morrisette’s distinctive voice and catchy anthems makes her easy to identify and cemented her as an iconic musical presence. It makes sense that a musical was born from her music.

Jagged Little Pill is a jukebox musical – where the songs aren’t original to the show, but popular music is situated to contexts in a story. Sometimes they are biographical (Jersey Boys, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), but they don’t have to be (Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You or Moulin Rouge). This falls under the latter. The story centres around the Healys, a seemingly perfect suburban family striving to hide the cracks beneath the surface when a troubling event shakes their community. Driven by the themes and emotions of the original album, the musical embraces today’s powerful social voice and burns with passion in its uplifting storytelling, ultimately highlighting the hope and healing that comes when people come together.

Multi-award winner Natalie Bassingthwaighte is cast in the lead role of Mary Jane Healy, the stereotypically ‘perfect’ American wife and mother (Caucasian, wealthy, writes Christmas letters). Behind the façade, her marriage is falling apart, and her children have problems of their own. Oh, and she’s addicted to painkillers! I’ve previously seen Natt Bass as Roxy in Chicago and I’m still not convinced that she’s suited to the theatre stage. I came in fully prepared to give her another chance, particularly as pop music is more in her wheelhouse. However, while she was better as Mary Jane (‘Forgiven’ and ‘Uninvited’ were hauntingly good), her voice is often and easily overpowered by those around her. Her best scenes are solos, and she does well in emotionally wrought episodes, though not enough to gain her character sympathy.

Filling out the rest of the main cast is Emily Nkomo (who, with more experience, will go far) starring as Frankie Healy, Liam Head as Nick Healy and the talented Tim Draxl as Mary Jane’s long-suffering husband, Steve. Grace Miell’s performance as Bella is worth noting. Her rendition of ‘Predator’ is heartbreaking and truly conveys the numbing horror her character is experiencing.

There’s a grit and tenacity in Morrissette’s original renditions that I felt was missing from this musical, particularly in the more upbeat songs. There is one stunningly standout exception to this: Maggie McKenna’s performance of ‘You Oughta Know’ as Jo. McKenna comes from Australian royalty (their mum is Gina Riley of Kath & Kim fame) and their professional debut was as Muriel in Muriel’s Wedding. The number comes during a confrontation scene between Frankie and Jo, after Frankie has unfeelingly cast aside her girlfriend Jo for new boy Phoenix (played by AYDAN). ‘You Oughta Know’ is Jo’s raw unleashing of their pent-up feelings. It’s delivered with such unabashed hurt and aggressive venom that it wrenches at your gut and strikes you to your core. And don’t just take my word for it; it inspired a spontaneous, mid-performance standing ovation, which I’ve never witnessed before. Literal. Chills.

A musical very much of its time, Jagged Little Pill certainly takes on the big issues of identity, sexual assault, misogyny and the complexities that surround them. And while the musical is to be lauded for bringing these to the fore, it verges on being too in-your-face. Laughter is to be had when the musical acknowledges the linguistic controversy around ‘Ironic’, with the song continually interrupted by people pointing out inaccuracies. The backwards-through-time scene was also an impressive feat.

While perhaps not my favourite musical, I still really enjoyed the experience. Mostly, I was reveling in the fact that I was able to experience a live show again. Jagged Little Pill plays at the Comedy Theatre until 16 March 2022. Tickets start at $85 (plus booking fees).

Head out and support the Arts industry by grabbing yourself some tickets!

Jagged Little Pill
Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, 3000
Until 16 March 2022
jaggedmusical.com

Images: Daniel Boud