'Jagged Little Pill' ready to cure your fix for exciting musical theater

PITTSBURGH – Alanis Morissette took angst to thrilling and commercially successful new heights in 1995, with the release of her landmark alternative-rock album "Jagged Little Pill."

The emotional, unflinching messages of "Jagged Little Pill" spawned the same-named Broadway musical almost a quarter century later.

"Honestly, I think it's more relatable now than then," said Rishi Golani, who portrays Phoenix in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical making its Pittsburgh debut Jan. 24 -29 at the Benedum Center. " I think Alanis Morissette was so ahead of her time in writing about rebellion and being heard in this world."

Set to finish his undergraduate studies at Pace University in 2024, Golani said, "I wasn't around for the impact that album had on people initially," but when cast for the role of new student and romantic interest to teen protagonist Frankie, "I quickly studied it."

Golani said the musical effectively bridges the gap between adults who cranked the volume when "Jagged Little Pill" songs like "Hand in My Pocket," "Ironic," "All I Really Want" and the fiery "You Oughta Know" dominated radio, and today's young people "who are learning how to use their voices to bring change for themselves and for a better world."

Heidi Blickenstaff reprises her role from the Broadway production as Mary Jane Healy, mother to the headstrong Frankie (Lauren Chanel) who becomes a romantic partner with the new kid in school, Phoenix. Mary Jane's husband Steve (Chris Hoch) and their Harvard-bound son Nick (Dillon Klena) round out the Healy family, all of whom are fighting separate battles.

"It's set in Connecticut with a family of four whose lives seem perfect from the outside, but they're falling apart," Golani said. "All four individuals have issues with themselves and each other. It's a white family with the youngest daughter a black girl who is adopted. The daughter and mother are having a real power struggle, and from there things start to unravel and unwind, and that causes chaos and catastrophe. But then we see things wind their way back."

An onstage band under the musical supervision of Grammy-, Tony- and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt("American Idiot") matches the raw power of Morissette's music with the poignant and fast-paced stage action.

The most challenging number for Golani, who's also part of the ensemble?

"All of them," he said with a laugh.

Golani's physically exhausted after a night of "liberating dance moves that make you want to pump your fist and break free from your chains."

As Phoenix, he also gets to wear a cool jacket emblazoned with dragons and red sleeves.

"Everyone has been jealous of that since day one," Golani said.

Along with all the material from "Jagged Little Pill," one of the top-selling albums of the 1990s, theatergoers will hear brand new songs written for the show, set to explosive choreography by Tony nominee and frequent Beyoncé collaborator Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

The original story comes from Tony and Academy Award-winning writer Diablo Cody ("Juno").

Nominated for a season-record of 15 Tony Awards following its December 2019 Broadway premiere, The New York Times declared the show “redemptive, rousing and real," adding "'Jagged Little Pill' stands alongside the original musicals that have sustained the best hopes of Broadway.”

The tagline calls it a story "about a perfectly imperfect American family."

There's a depth to the Tony-winning writing to what at first glance "Appears to be a simply written, surface level story with colloquialisms anyone can understand," Golani said.

So, what more do you oughta know, Morissette and Broadway fans?

"Trust that we've done a good job of marrying the two together," Golani said.

"If you're on the fence, just do it," Golani said. "This show has something for everyone to see. I hope everyone will take something away from it on how to love each other better."

For tickets, visit TrustArts.org, or the Benedum Center box office, 237 Seventh St., or call 412-456-4800,

More:Sting does his thing with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Scott Tady is entertainment editor of The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'Jagged Little Pill' is your prescription for exciting musical theater