feature photo: Lauren Chanel and the company of the North American Tour of JAGGED LITTLE PILL, by Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
The Kimmel Cultural Campus and The Shubert Organization present the Broadway hit Jagged Little Pill at the Academy of Music from January 3 – 15, 2023. Inspired by the seminal rock album of the same name by seven-time Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette (she/her), Jagged Little Pill is part of the 2022-23 Broadway Series.
Jagged Little Pill is a jukebox musical featuring Alanis Morissette’s groundbreaking hit songs such as “You Oughta Know,” “Head Over Feet,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and “Ironic.” It interweaves the songs with the pain of the fictional Healy family and ultimately tells their story of healing and empowerment. The Healy’s appear to be an ideal suburban family – but when the cracks beneath them begin to surface, they must choose between maintaining the status quo, or face the jarring truth about themselves, their community, and the world around them.
“Nominated for more Tonys than any other musical in its season, Jagged Little Pill is a beautifully constructed show, weaved together through the work of songwriting genius Alanis Morissette,” said Frances Egler, Senior Director of Programming and Presentations on the Kimmel Cultural Campus. “We’re thrilled to host the Philadelphia premiere of this work, another outstanding production from acclaimed director Diane Paulus, whose other contribution to our season is the revived and reimagined 1776.”
Jagged Little Pill officially opened on Broadway on December 5, 2019, at the Broadhurst Theatre after beginning previews November 3. Prior to Broadway, Jagged Little Pill completed a record-breaking, sold-out run at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Mass. The pre-Broadway world premiere production ran for 79 sold-out performances, from May 5 – July 15, 2018, marking the longest-running and highest-grossing production in A.R.T.’s history. Jagged Little Pill concluded its award-winning Broadway run on December 17, 2021, after playing 36 previews and 171 performances. That same month, the production made its international debut in Australia at Theatre Royal Sydney.
Heidi Blickenstaff (she/her) will reprise her role from the Broadway production as Mary Jane Healy; she is joined by Lauren Chanel (she/her) as Frankie Healy, Chris Hoch (he/him) as Steve Healy and Dillon Klena (he/him) as Nick Healy. The cast also includes Jade McLeod (they/them) as Jo and Allison Sheppard (she/her) as Bella.
The ensemble includes Lee H. Alexander (he/him), Delaney Brown (she/they), Jada Simone Clark (she/her), Lani Corson (she/her), Rishi Golani (he/him), Jason Goldston (he/they), Zach Hess (he/him), Cydney Kutcipal (they/them), Jordan Leigh McCaskill (they/she), Alana Pollard (she/they), Daniel Thimm (he/him), Kei Tsuruharatani (she/they), and Jena Van Elslander. Maya J. Christian (she/her), Claire Crause (she/her), Sean Doherty (he/him), and Charles P. Way (he/him) join the cast as swings.
Directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (she/her; Waitress, Pippin), Jagged Little Pill is an “electrifying, visceral and stunning” (The Hollywood Reporter) musical with an original story by Tony and Academy Award-winning writer Diablo Cody (she/her; Juno, Tully). Nominated for 15 Tony Awards following its Broadway premiere, The New York Times declared the show “redemptive, rousing and real… Jagged Little Pill stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway.”
Jagged Little Pill features explosive choreography by Tony Award nominee and frequent Beyoncé collaborator SidiLarbi Cherkaoui (he/him; “Apesh*t,” “Love Drought/Sandcastles” Live at The Grammys), and the raw power of an onstage band under the Musical Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements of Grammy, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt (he/him; Next to Normal, American Idiot).
The Jagged Little Pillcreative team includes Tony-nominated Scenic Designer Riccardo Hernandez(he/him; Parade), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emily Rebholz(she/her; Dear Evan Hansen), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Justin Townsend (he/him; Moulin Rouge!), Tony-nominated Sound Designer Jonathan Deans (he/him; Waitress), and Tony-nominated Video Designer Lucy Mackinnon (she/her; Spring Awakening). Hair, Wig, and Make-up Design is provided by J. Jared Janas(he/him; Sunset Boulevard).
Released on June 13, 1995, the success of Alanis Morissette’s album Jagged Little Pill skyrocketed Morissette, a Canadian, to become the bestselling international debut artist in history, a title she still holds, with the record’s sales reaching 33 million copies worldwide. Now, even 25 years after its initial release, Jagged Little Pill continues to be one of the Top 20 Best-Selling Albums of All Time. With ten eclectic and acclaimed albums released over the subsequent years, Morissette’s music has garnered 7 Grammy Awards (with 14 nominations), a Golden Globe nomination, and total sales of over 60 million albums.
In 2019, Atlantic Records partnered with the Broadway production for the release of its Original Broadway Cast Recording, adding the show to the label’s elite roster of Grammy Award-winning artists and cast albums. The cast album for Jagged Little Pillwas officially released on December 6, 2019 – the day after the show’s opening night on Broadway – and won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.
In the fall of 2020, the musical garnered a season-leading 15 Tony Nominations – including Best Musical – and Grand Central Publishing released a coffee table book that followed the journey of Jagged Little Pillto Broadway, with behind-the-scenes photos and stories from Alanis Morissette, Diablo Cody, the cast, and more. Following the show’s big Grammy Award win in 2021, Jagged Little Pillalso won Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Diablo Cody) and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Lauren Patten).
Ticket info can be found here.
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