{"id":111400,"date":"2026-03-24T17:16:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=111400"},"modified":"2026-03-28T14:12:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T21:12:50","slug":"jagged-little-pill-stays-relevant-in-21st-century-jukebox-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/jagged-little-pill-stays-relevant-in-21st-century-jukebox-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Jagged Little Pill\u2019 stays relevant in 21st century jukebox musical"},"content":{"rendered":"

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L-R, Susan Zelinsky and Morgan Olson appear in Marin Theatre Company and Novato Theater’s co-production of “Jagged Little Pill: The Musical” onstage in Novato. (Katie Wickes via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

By WOODY WEINGARTEN, Bay City News<\/strong><\/p>\n

When is a jukebox musical more than just that? When its story covers issues from the\u00a01990s\u00a0that\u00a0remain\u00a0problems today,\u00a0like fentanyl addiction, rape and gender and racial identity.<\/p>\n

Canadian alt-rock singer Alanis Morissette\u2019s smash 1995 album \u201cJagged Little Pill\u201d is the inspiration for the 2018 musical\u00a0onstage\u00a0in a\u00a0Novato Theater\u00a0and Marin Musical Theatre co-production through April 12.\u00a0It\u00a0reveals\u00a0how a\u00a0seemingly picture-perfect\u00a0white suburban Connecticut family\u2014mom, dad,\u00a0son and adopted Black daughter\u00a0with hidden plights\u2014is\u00a0truly\u00a0dysfunctional.\u00a0It takes\u00a0place over one year, beginning with\u00a0the\u00a0mother\u00a0writing a\u00a0sanitized Christmas letter, followed by a darker one the next.<\/p>\n

This community production, co-directed and choreographed by Katie Wickes and Jenny Boynton, is exciting from its loud start to its unexpected, haunting finish.<\/p>\n

Susan Zelinsky, as Mary Jane Healy, the pill-popping supermom, carries much of the show on her slim shoulders. But Evvy Carlstrom-March, who portrays Jo,\u00a0the\u00a0lesbian lover of Frankie, the Healy daughter\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0unsure of her sexuality, has the cleanest vocal chops.\u00a0Imri M. Tate as\u00a0the rebellious teen\u00a0Frankie, is easily the most animated.<\/p>\n

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L-R, Evvy Carlstrom-March and Imri M. Tate are among the excellent cast of Marin Theatre Company and Novato Theater\u2019s co-production of \u201cJagged Little Pill: The Musical.\u201d (Katie Wickes via Bay City News)<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sean O\u2019Brien\u00a0as\u00a0Steve, the frustrated dad\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0heavily into internet porn because his addicted wife has lost her libido, also has a strong voice.<\/p>\n

Morgan Olson\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0need to sing. As a symbolic dancing shadow of Mary\u00a0Jane,\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0graceful and eye-catching,\u00a0whether twirling or flying from one mark to another on her toes or stone-facedly caressing MJ\u2019s face and handing her\u00a0opioids.<\/p>\n

Music\u00a0director\u00a0Megan\u00a0Schoenbohm\u00a0and\u00a0top-notch musicians\u00a0keep the sound at a level that\u00a0mostly\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0drown Morissette\u2019s\u00a0lyrics, which are\u00a0potent, honest, biting, coarse,\u00a0caustic\u00a0and\u00a0humorous.\u00a0Occasionally, the chorus sounds\u00a0mushy\u00a0and the words\u00a0are hard to\u00a0discern;\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the lone sour note in the passionate 2\u00bd-hour\u00a0show.<\/p>\n

Among the show\u2019s many\u00a0high points\u00a0are Morissette\u2019s\u00a0classic tunes \u201cAll I Really Want,\u201d \u201cHand in My Pocket,\u201d \u201cIronic\u201d\u00a0and \u201cYou\u00a0Oughta\u00a0Know,\u201d\u00a0as well as \u201cSo Unsexy,\u201d \u201cForgiven,\u201d \u201cUnprodigal\u00a0Daughter,\u201d \u201cPredator\u201d and \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

This examination of female introspection and angst\u00a0boasts a book by\u00a0Diablo Cody, who won a Tony Award.\u00a0Glen Ballard composed some of the music with Morissette.<\/p>\n

\u201cJagged Little Pill: The Musical\u201d\u00a0opened on Broadway in\u00a02019 but closed soon after during pandemic shutdowns in 2020.\u00a0Happily, it\u00a0came\u00a0back successfully.<\/p>\n

Marin Musical Theatre\u2019s\u00a0Wickes and Boynton\u00a0follow\u00a0with another winner after\u00a0their electrifying \u201cCabaret\u201d\u00a0last\u00a0year\u00a0featuring\u00a0Carlstrom-March\u00a0as\u00a0Sally\u00a0Bowles. This show, too, is\u00a0worth a trip to Novato.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0likely to\u00a0make an impact on\u00a0theatergoers\u00a0coming from\u00a0myriad places,\u00a0both\u00a0geographically\u00a0and\u00a0emotionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cJagged Little Pill: The Musical,\u201d\u00a0a co-production of the Marin Musical Theatre Company, runs at Novato Theater Company, 5420 Nave Drive, Novato, through April 12. Tickets are $37 to $50 at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>novatotheatercompany.org<\/em><\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sherwood \u201cWoody\u201d Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle and the author of four books, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or on his websites,<\/em>https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and <\/em>https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WOODY WEINGARTEN, Bay City News When is a jukebox musical more than just that? When its story covers issues from the\u00a01990s\u00a0that\u00a0remain\u00a0problems today,\u00a0like fentanyl addiction, rape and gender and racial…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"