Alanis Morissette Musical ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Headed to Broadway This Fall

Diablo Cody wrote the book for theater production based on album of the same name

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“Jagged Little Pill,” a musical featuring the songs of ’90s rocker Alanis Morissette, will open on Broadway this fall at a theater to be named later, the producers of the show announced Monday.

The musical features a book by Diablo Cody (“Juno”) and the music and lyrics from Morissette and six-time Grammy winner Glen Ballard. It premiered at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) last summer.

“Jagged Little Pill” is inspired by the themes and emotions of Morissette’s album of the same name. The story follows the Healys, who appear to be a picture-perfect suburban family. But when the cracks beneath the surface begin to show, they must choose between maintaining the veneer, or defiantly facing truths about themselves and the world around them.

“I could not be more thrilled to be making my Broadway debut with the support of this incredible team and of course, my hero, Alanis Morissette,” said Diablo Cody. “Writing ‘Jagged Little Pill’ has been the most fulfilling and emotional creative experience of my life, and I am so excited to share it with as many people as possible.”

The show includes several of Morissette’s hits from that album including “You Oughta Know,” “Head Over Feet,” “Hand In My Pocket” and “Ironic,” as well as songs newly written for the stage.

Atlantic Records will also partner with “Jagged Little Pill” for the release of the original Broadway cast recording.

Diane Paulus (“Waitress,” “Pippin”) directs the musical that’s produced by Vivek J. Tiwary, Arvind Ethan David and Eva Price. Movement direction and choreography is by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, with musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal,” “American Idiot”).

The world premiere production of “Jagged Little Pill” ran for 79 sold-out performances in the summer of 2018 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The 10-week engagement marked the longest-running and highest-grossing production in the theater’s history.

Dates, theater and casting for the Broadway production will be announced on a later date.

Read Morissette’s full statement about the production below:

“This process, and what this process has yielded artistically and collaboratively, has been nothing short of a revelation, a balm and an arrival for me. It is a culmination of so much of what my life’s work has been oriented toward.  To work with Diablo Cody, whose heart is as open as her mind is bright and brave, has taken this record – which has meant so much to me – to a whole other level of depth, meaning and natural activism. Touching on topics that keep me up at night for how deeply I care about them, Diablo’s at once fierce, sensitive and hilarious voice–and her willingness to stay and deepen the course through this journey of creation has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s ability to allow these strong and agile bodies and movement to animate and tell this story on visual, spatial, somatic and heart-gripping visceral levels is unlike anything I have ever seen. Tom Kitt’s multi-layered and seemingly effortless weaving together of the musical tapestry of these songs that range from tiny and pin-drop subtle to a kaleidoscope of blended honorings and re-interpretations, leave me with chills and tears. All of this, with Diane Paulus as our fearless visionary and leader. Her searing intelligence and her capacity to hold the complexity as well as the stillness, and her ability to see the big picture of what this story represents to so many of us, has allowed for her leadership to bring us into a level of profundity and service that we were both deeply moved and cracked open by. The entire team is the dream-come-true collaboration. A relational system of slam dunks, and a community of people who each care in a way that marks each person’s unique and powerful contribution. Grateful does not even come close to how I feel throughout this journey thus far. This process is tinged with giddiness, terror, surrender, wild passion, joy and light.”

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