Jagged Little Pill: The Musical? — Page 2

Oh I love that one.

I must be the only person who thinks this is a rotten idea. (Then again, I'm really not into jukebox musicals.) I hate the angry tone of the album.

Why doesn't Alanis try what Sting and others have done? Write something ORIGINAL.

I don't think it's a tremendously great idea, but that song book is really rich. Whether or not the show is any good doesn't matter that much to me, they're really great songs.

You do raise a good point has she or is she interested in writing for the stage? She's very familiar with the form as she was a huge advocate for Jane Eyre and did the Cole Porter movie.

Offensive? How?

Her "Perfect" is stunning, especially the acoustic version.
Alanis Morissette: Perfect [acoustic version LIVE]

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Just to clarify, my other posts, I don't think it's a bad idea. Just a very tricky one. The problem is that Alanis's biggest hits were off of the "angry" album and were the "angry" songs (but One Hand In My Pocket is a big exception).

Most (not all) of the other songs you've mentioned aren't well known, were not big hits, and regardless of whether or not this is a standard jukebox musical, that's what most audiences will think, especially if you call it Jagged Little Pill, and sell it as Alanis's show.

In other words, producers and marketers will push it and push the well known "angry" songs. Those will be hard to sell theatrically. If a character who hasn't earned the right to rant "goes off" in a musical, you run the risk of losing a lot of your audience, me included. They won't understand why the characters are so pissed and hurt and mad, and it will be a big turn off.

And back to what Jordy was saying, if you throw in some of her lesser known (but equally good) songs, and add some new ones, then audiences will wonder what happened to all the hits. They are going to view this as Morrissette's Mamma Mia! or Jersey Boys anyway, whether they like it or not. And calling it "Jagged Little Pill" sets it up to be just that.

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Updated On: 11/8/13 at 04:25 PM

That first album is still insanely popular with people so I'd assume the majority of it was used. Pretty much every time I see her in concert she plays most songs from it and then picks one or two songs from other albums to fill up the set list. And that never fails to upset me. Her last concert at the release of HAVOC, I was really praying to hear some stuff from SUPPOSED FORMER INFATUATION JUNKIE and UNDER RUG SWEPT and she sang one song from each because she had to sing the entire JAGGED album and songs from the new one.

I really hope she can use this musical to showcase her far superior songs and get people who might not be aware that she's still as active in the industry as she is (since she's not played on the radio) to renew interest in her music.

But that's not true. The album isn't an "angry" album. There are some "angry" songs on it but that's like saying GYPSY is about a lamb. There's a song about a lamb but that doesn't mean it's what it's about.

I'm confused... I'm not familiar with the entire album - but of the ones that were hits on the radio, there is one "really angry" one (You Outta Know). This is how I would describe the others:

Hand in My Pocket - definitely not angry... more fun and carefree (and a little rebellious)

Ironic - not really angry either... more "bad luck" than anything - in a somewhat humorous way (could be a poignant, reflective moment in the musical..)

You Learn - if anything this is "triumph over adversity"... not angry

Head over Feet - unabashedly romantic

All I Really Want - more a confessional to a partner than anything. Needy.. not angry.

That's quite a collection of diversity right there...

Are the other six songs really angry, furious, pissed, ticked or miffed?

"then you know exactly how it was perceived and received when it came out."

Perceived is the operative word here. "You Oughta Know" was one of the biggest hits of the entire decade and was an angry song. Since it was essentially her debut song, it's what introduced most of the world to her so she was given that image. The fact that she performed it on every TV show when grunge was still very popular so she "head banged" the hell out of it gave it a lot of rage. BUT the album as a whole is NOT an angry album. As a-mad points out, of the other songs on it that became hits, no other song has that kind of anger. Some might even say they're "happy" songs.

So even if they went into this show thinking "We're going to make this an ANGRY musical using these songs", they'd be fooling themselves because the music does not fit that. At all.

Updated On: 11/8/13 at 05:55 PM

Alanis Morissette - Alanis Morissette: Anger Is A Compliment

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Updated On: 11/8/13 at 05:59 PM

Yes, but she IS forever identified.

So, the "tricky" part (as I originally said) will be to convince others that the mellower Morrissette material is just as interesting and relevant. It will be necessary in a stage musical with a storyline, too.

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