Alanis Morissette Musical For ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Coming In 2018

Alanis Morissette is bringing her iconic album, Jagged Little Pill, to the stage, and it is planned for a 2018 debut. To make it even more enticing, Oscar-winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody, and Tony-winning director, Diane Paulus, have been attached to the project.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the musical will debut in May 2018 and feature songs from Morissette’s hit album, Jagged Little Pill. The production will be held at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. So, it is not Broadway, but it is a small step in the right direction.

For the production, Cody (Juno) will write the book, and Paulus (Waitress) will serve as the director. Broadway.com states that Tom Kitt (If/Then) will provide musical arrangements and orchestrations for the Alanis Morissette musical. We also have Vivek J. Tiwary, Arvind Ethan David, and Eva Price serving as producers.

The initial plans for a Jagged Little Pill musical were first revealed back in 2013. A workshop was done, and now, Morissette’s dreams are coming true.

“This team that has come together for this Jagged Little Pill musical is my musical theater dream come true. 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.”

In the press release, it states that Cody is working with Morissette on getting the story just right. The story will focus on “a modern and multi-generational family and their complex dynamics, touching on issues of gender identity and race.” It looks like Diablo Cody is excited to work with Alanis and this project.

“I am so excited to tell a modern story through these iconic songs. Alanis’s music is full of powerful narratives that lend themselves organically to this process.”

Jagged Little Pill provided us with some great songs. Of those, “Ironic,” “Hand In My Pocket,” and “You Oughta Know” have been confirmed for the musical. Morissette has a huge playlist to choose from, so you can expect many more names to be added to that song list and even some new, original songs.

Diane Paulus is currently the Artistic Director at the American Repertory Theater, so it seemed like a perfect fit to add her on board. Not only was Paulus nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director for her revival of Hair, but she also won the Tony for Best Director in 2013 for her revival of Pippin. Now, she will be taking on the Jagged Little Pill musical, and she is also excited for this new project.

“Jagged Little Pill defined a generation and yet the raw, emotional honesty of Alanis’s songs feels more needed now than ever. I am thrilled to be collaborating with Alanis and Diablo to unlock the theatrical power of this album.”

Jagged Little Pill was first released in 1995 and sold over 33 million copies worldwide. It is crazy to think that 22 years have passed since it first came out. This was the international debut of Morissette, but her third overall album. It went on to be a smashing success for Alanis, as she earned nine Grammy Award nominations and took home the big prize in five of those categories, including Album of the Year. It even made Rolling Stone’s list as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Morissette is not the first musician to make their way to the musical stage. Green Day did it with American Idiot, and Cyndi Lauper wrote all the original songs for Kinky Boots. We also saw Carole King’s story told in Beautiful.

[Featured Image by Michael Buckner/Getty Images]