It’s been several years since Alanis Morissette first revealed that a stage adaptation of Jagged Little Pill, her breakout 1995 album, was in development. The plan was to use all of the album’s songs in addition to new material penned by Morissette for an original musical, with Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) signed on for orchestration and arrangement duties. While news had been quiet on the project in the time since, a new press release has confirmed that it’s now full steam ahead, with the Broadway-bound production set to debut at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in May 2018.
Morissette has attracted top talent for the adaptation, which reportedly explores the gender and racial dynamics of a contemporary, multi-generational family. In what will mark her Broadway debut, Oscar winner Diablo Cody (Juno) has written the musical’s book—a pretty ideal match of sensibilities, in all likelihood—while Tony winner Diane Paulus (Finding Neverland) is aboard to stage its American Repertory Theater run. Kitt is also still involved, with Vivek J. Tiwary, Arvind Ethan David, and Eva Price attached as producers.
“This team that has come together for this Jagged Little Pill musical is my musical theater dream come true,” Morissette said in a statement. “The chemistry between all of us is crackling and I feel honored to be diving into these songs again, surrounded by all of this searing talent. Diablo and Diane are already taking these deeply personal songs that are part of my soul’s marrow to a whole other level of hope, freedom, and complexity.”
Jagged Little Pill was one of the most critically and commercially successful albums of the 1990s, featuring such smash hits as “Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and “You Oughta Know.” Those songs are confirmed to be included in the upcoming musical, but it appears to have expanded in focus since its initial announcement, to more broadly feature Morissette’s body of work. More news is sure to come ahead of its premiere next spring.
