Jagged Little Pill

October 15, 2020
The companion volume to the stage adaptation of Morissette's Grammy-winning album. In 2019, fans of the 1995 megahit Jagged Little Pill were blessed with a Broadway jukebox musical adaptation (the production premiered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2018). This complementary book, co-written by Morissette and screenwriter Cody, with photos by Murphy, vividly combines song lyrics and cast stories with bright collages, eye-catching imagery, and effectively captured stage photography from pre-pandemic performances in Manhattan. The musical follows the affluent Healy family: pill-popping mother Mary Jane; distant, workaholic father Steve; and teenage brother and sister Nick and Frankie. Nick is a Harvard-bound senior with an overinflated ego. Frankie, the adopted, bisexual, feminist Black daughter, emerges as the most politically charged character, thrust into a predominantly White community that's not always racially tolerant. As hidden secrets, sexual assault, opioid dependency, denial, and youthful angst consume the family, lyrics to the album's hits interweave through the narrative. Two resonant essays capture the essence of the drama: Cultural critic Rachel Syme expresses her high hopes that the book will provide a fitting place marker during the Covid-19 era while the theater is dark and the sets and props are "gathering dust, waiting for the day that the show can go on." In her commentary, Morissette chronicles the album's genesis and enduring relevance, and she remarks on how the production has impacted her on a personal healing level. The book provides a line-by-line script of the production along with behind-the-scenes footnotes and directorial and cast commentary, resulting in a colorful assembly of art, music, and activist messaging. "I didn't make it any easier by deciding the show would deal with the opioid epidemic, sexual assault, political activism, and religion," writes Cody in the afterword. "This was not a dance-in-the-aisles jukebox musical with a featherweight story; as much as I enjoy those shows, I wanted [this one] to be as real and provocative as the album that inspired it." A moving, well-rendered keepsake and a must-purchase for fans.

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November 6, 2020

This collector's book about the musical adaptation of singer Morissette's seminal 1995 album of the same name includes the libretto of the show, interspersed with essays and interviews with the cast and creative team about its journey to Broadway. As with many jukebox musicals, the plot by screenwriter Cody (Juno)--which follows the struggles of a seemingly perfect Connecticut family--is constructed around the songs, the lyrics of which don't completely fit the story, creating a slightly awkward pairing. Vibrantly designed with compelling photographs that document both the stage show and life behind the scenes, the volume is meant to be flipped through rather than read cover to cover. Short explainers on the issues tackled in the musical--opioid addiction, LGBTQ identity, transracial adoption, sexual assault--may be an effort toward inclusion but feel like virtue signaling. Theatergoers who haven't seen the show will be interested in the creation and production of the musical. Most notable are Morissette's contributions, including footnotes in the script, about writing the now-classic songs, and readers will find themselves humming her hits. VERDICT Ardent Morissette fans and Broadway buffs will enjoy this peek behind the curtain. --Katy Hershberger, School Library Journal

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