You oughta know 'Jagged Little Pill' is a powerful, well-constructed show worth seeing

PITTSBURGH – Sharp writing. Powerful storytelling. Clever staging. Impressive singing and acting. And a live band positioned above the stage performing a jukebox of Alanis Morissette songs including an intense, goosebump-giving "You Oughta Know."

Given all that, the hearty applause was well-merited Tuesday, at Pittsburgh's opening night of the acclaimed Broadway musical "Jagged Little Pill," which runs through Sunday at the Benedum Center.

When the curtain first lifted, the first obvious reaction was wow, this ensemble cast is young. Most of them wouldn't have been alive, or at least old enough to remember, when Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" album ― the chief soundtrack to the musical ― burst onto the scene in the summer of 1995.

Though like Rishi Golani, one of the college-aged performers, who charmingly plays new kid-in-school/love interest Phoenix, said in an interview with The Times, these popular Morissette songs might be even more relevant now, especially for anyone seeking self-discovery in our chaotic, pressure-filled world.

As the curtain rises, we meet the Healy family of suburban Connecticut, introduced by athleisure-wearing mom Mary Jane (a marvelous Heidi Blickenstaff reprising her Broadway role) penning her annual Christmas card letter to friends, boasting how son Nick (Dillon Klena) just got accepted to Harvard.

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

But Mary Jane quickly scratches the surface to show us this seemingly idyllic family has issues, including workaholic husband Steve (Steve Hoch) who's grown addicted to porn, believing the romantic spark is gone between him and Mary Jane, who's on pain meds since her car accident.

Rounding out the main cast is the family's 16-year-old adopted daughter Frankie (Lauren Chanel) striving to mobilize indifferent classmates to social causes. Frankie is Black, and her interactions with her white mom sometimes take on a playful tone, at least initially. When mom talks proudly of her blonde brownie recipe, Frankie quips "even your brownies are Caucasian."

But a pivotal event soon divides equally headstrong mom and daughter, setting a poignant course of events that lets the show address the timely issues of opioid addiction and rape culture. With a book by Diablo Cody (the film hit "Juno"), the show's messages are frank but well-measured, stopping short of preachy.

Some subtle digs in the writing shine, like in Mary Jane's interactions with her espresso-sipping, spin-class-attending suburban mom friends who can't conceal their competitiveness.

No spoilers here, but there's a scene that does something brilliant with motion and time. And Golani earned ample applause Tuesday for a physical comedy scene. He was spot-on, in our phone interview, about the show's "liberating dance moves that make you want to pump your fist."

The build-up to the fiery "You Oughta Know" is worth the wait, with an epic vocal performance by fifth-billed Jade McLeod (playing Frankie's girlfriend) nailing the angst and anger of the Morissette song's scorned lover.

Morissette fans should smile during "Ironic," where in dialogue, Golani dismisses 27 years of people whining that several examples of irony cited by the singer in that song aren't so ironic.

The musical's song selections never seemed forced, as "Jagged Little Pill" album hits like "All I Really Want," "Hand in My Pocket" and "Head Over Feet" (aka "You've already won me over in spite of me") fit snugly into the storyline. Morissette and the album's co-writer Glen Ballard composed some new songs for the musical that fit in so seamlessly you'll wonder if they were forgotten album cuts from 1995.

The lone negative to Tuesday's performance ― not counting the standard 15-minutes late opening night start ― came nine minutes in, when the performance was halted due to what an announcer said were "technical issues." The curtain went down mid-scene, as the backstage crew fixed what apparently was a problem with the projection screen. The delay lasted eight minutes, and then the show continued with a brief rewind and an improvised punchline from Broadway vet Blickenstaff reminding us things like that happen.

"Jagged Little Pill" touts itself as a story about "a perfectly imperfect American family," so maybe an imperfect opening night was apropos. The Benedum crowd didn't get flustered, and that eight-minute delay drifted deep into afterthought after a rousing stage performance that earned a lengthy standing ovation.

You oughta know this is a musical very much worth your time.

Be advised tickets remain at trustarts.org, but are at 2-3 percent availability for this Friday, Saturday and the Sunday matinee shows.

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

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: You oughta know 'Jagged Little Pill' is a powerful show to witness