Jagged Little Pill - Reviews — Page 7

I may be in the minority here, but my boyfriend and I saw the show last night and quite literally could not make it to the second act. Which is a shame because a good friend had said that the best part of the show arrived in the second act with Patten's performance of "You Oughta Know". Alas, we will watch the performance at the Tony's. I admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Alanis, but I appreciate her body of work. I like to listen to "Ironic", but just not in this context.

Quite frankly, we didn't find much of anything good about the show. The staging was a bit like college-level drama department. The story very really forced. The actors were meh -- no real standout performances from anyone. Sound editing was a bust. And, worst of all, the songs felt too forced. There were simply too many songs that did nothing to advance the plot. Here's the structure of the play: SCENE: In walks 2-5 primary characters. They discuss an issue for 5 minutes. Then one or both of them break(s) out into a 4-minute song that is loosely tied to their discussion, and the audience spends the next 4 minutes attempting to tie back the lyrics of the song to what was just discussed. No new revelations in those songs. No advancement of emotions. End scene. It's so repetitive and formulaic in this show that it's very annoying.

Most of all, I wish I had saved my time and money and gone to another show. There's so much talent on Broadway right now, and I hate myself for squandering opportunities to see shows that are really advancing the modern day musical or modern day play. This is not one of them. But, if you love Alanis or sappy song-driven musicals with thin plots, please have it!

[I lay most of the blame for my buying tickets to the show on the reviews -- particularly the NY Times' review. I have never been more disappointed.]

Jordan Catalano said: "I just don’t get the adoration for Patten. She sang the most famous song and that’s about it. Otherwise she was angsty for a couple hours. I mean she did a good job at it but I just don’t understand how it’s In any way awards worthy."

110% agreed, Jordan.

florida theatre kid said: "Saw the show tonight, Friday 1/24. It’s undeniable the energy in the theatre is electric and the Broadhurst has a hit on it’s hands.

That being said, I truly felt about 80% of it worked. Stanley is a force. Hope she is recognized come awards season. Big shoutout to the whole supporting cast, particularly Krill, Klena, and Gallagher. People have said Klena’s character feels too small, but besides Krill, I sympathized with him most.

I will say I can’t help but agree with previous reviews on some aspects. It is too “in your face” at times. I’m about as far left liberal as they come and there were times I had to chuckle a bit at what was onstage. As far as Patten goes, she obviously sings the sh*t out of “You Oughta Know”, but the placement honestly felt a bit campy. Having not even browsed the Playbill beforehand, the second that scene started, I knew that song was coming up. There were several other more genuine moments in the show for me. “Smiling” particularly stands out, as well as anything Gallagher sings (who could sing the phone book to me).

Also have to agree with previous posts that this easy could have been a DEH or N2N situation with a 6 person cast, or very small ensemble (I wouldn’t want to lose Laurel Harris who is a true standout!). There were times the ensemble was there....just to be there.

Overall, I recommend this to anyone. The crowd is EATING it up, and regardless of minor plot issues, the cast is working their (very fit) asses off and giving the audience an incredible experience. "

I was there too yesterday and agree with your take. Also, the audience was probably the youngest I've ever seen at a Broadway musical. I was amazed to see so many young people (late teens, early 20s) around me who apparently were coming back to see this show over and over.