Theatre 2023: Jagged Little Pill

I have watched three musicals (two of them juke box musicals) within the span of a month, and it is interesting to compare them.  While I previously complained that the plot and number of songs included in the musical “Six” felt lightweight, it was the complete opposite with the  musical “Jagged Little Pill”, based on the songs of Canadian grunge-pop/rock singer Alanis Morissette.  Mining the lyrics primarily from her 1995 multi-platinum album of the same name, Jagged Little Pill the musical has a complex storyline that deals with dark themes including family dysfunction, anxiety, substance abuse, implicit racism, gender identities, and sexual assault.

In comparison to “In Dreams” which features the catalog of Roy Orbison, both Orbison and Morissette sing many sad songs about pain and loss.  But where Orbison’s tunes are melancholic and regretful ballads (“Crying .. over you”), Morissette’s are angsty, angry and aggressive rock songs (“It was a slap in the face, how quickly I was replaced …”) with loud instrumentation featuring heavy bass and percussion. 

While a few of the lyrics of Morissette’s songs were changed to better suit the plot, the instrumentation was not rearranged and remained loud, distorted and overwhelming.  When paired with bad acoustics at the Princess of Wales Theatre and the softer voices of some of the performers, it made the poignant lyrics very difficult to hear.  The background music was so loud that it drowned out much of the singing.  I was particularly frustrated by the song “That I Would Be Good” where I could only hear that first part, but not the resolution of each sentence.  All I could hear over and over again was “That I would be good, even if ..”  I wanted to scream “if what????”.  It was only when I got home and listened to the soundtrack while reading the lyrics that I discovered how perfectly many of the songs fit into the plot and enriched the back-stories of the characters.  Once again I lamented not doing more research before watching the show.

The book for Jagged Little Pill was written by Diablo Cody who won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the 2007 movie Juno.  The main protagonists are the Healys, who outwardly portray the image of the perfect middle-class family unit, as described by matriarch Mary Jane (MJ) in her annual Christmas card.  Behind the scenes, we see that MJ is addicted to prescription pain killers after a car accident, her estranged husband Steve is a workaholic who missed much of his childrens’ upbringing, their adopted teenaged black daughter Frankie is bisexual and searching for her racial identity within her white family, while teenaged Nick is weighed down by the expectations of being the golden child and perfect son.

Usually towards the beginning of a musical, you have the “I Want” song which describes the hopes, desires and motivations of the main character or characters.  What better Morisette song to choose than the one titled “All I Really Want” with the various lines of the song portioned out to the appropriate characters.  Frankie idealistically wants a better, just world where people are not apathetic.  She also desires a soul mate who understands her and can talk intelligently to her.  Nick wants peace from the stress of trying to be perfect while MJ and Steve want to have patience to deal with their kids (and each other?).  Steve also wants more time while MJ seeks comfort.  The words of this song are sung verbatim by the cast except for a one word change where Frankie asks MJ if she thinks about her “bills, pills, deadlines”?  It was impressive how the lyrics of this one song could fit so aptly to the motivations of each character and made me think about the process of how a juke box musical is developed.  Do they pick the songs first and fit a story within the lyrics, or have the skeleton of a story and find songs that match?

The gender non-conforming character Jo (not Joanne!) is in a relationship with Frankie until Frankie meets and falls in love with Phoenix, who is male.  Jo’s outraged performance of “You Oughta Know”, expressing their hurt and anger at being dumped and betrayed, is a tour de force that stopped the show to rounding applause.  The song starts off slowly then builds into what feels like an erupting volcano with the stage bathed in bright red light that symbolized their rage.

MJ’s drug abuse is illustrated in an amazingly choreographed sequence that starts with her trying to get more drugs from the pharmacy but is out of refills.  She keeps up appearances when encountering other school moms at the gym, then meets a drug dealer in the alley and buys illegal drugs before going home to unpack groceries.  Singing the soulful song “Smiling” that describes her world crashing around her while she has to “keep on smiling”, the entire scene that we just saw is replayed backwards with all the characters moving slowly in reverse.  This was one of two songs that were written specifically for the musical.

Nick sings the song “Perfect” to relay his anxiety and anguish of trying to measure up to impossible expectations.  When he witnesses the sexual assault of his friend Bella while she was passed out drunk at a party, Nick is reluctant to get involved.  MJ also encourages him to stay silent, afraid that he might be named as an accomplice.  When Nick finally decides to come forward and relays what happened, the rape scene is re-enacted with the help of an incredible dancer who acts as an avatar for Bella who sings “Predator”, the second haunting new song that Morissette wrote specifically for the show.

This same dancer is used in the scene where MJ overdoses on fentanyl-laced opioids while singing “Uninvited”, as if personifying the hellish turmoil that she is experiencing.  As the saying goes, “when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance”.  This certainly was showcased in these extremely emotional scenes and the impact was breathtaking.  In all, the choreography was probably the best part of this musical.

I was so surprised to learn that the eleven o’clock number “No” was not written specifically for the show since it fit so perfectly.  In a rally organized by Frankie to support her, Bella sings “My mind is invaded. My gates are ignored … What part of no, do you not understand?”  This is the most powerful scene of the show as anti-abuse signs are held up by most of the cast.

After all that trauma, the show ends on a happier, hopeful note with the various broken relationships being mended and friends and family reconciling.  The cast sings “You Learn” to illustrate that despite all their bad choices and decisions, they have learned to be better people (“You live, you learn; You lose, you learn…).

In considering the three musicals that I watched back-to-back-to-back, I think I liked Jagged Little Pill the best.  It was the most ambitious in terms of themes and plot, did a fabulous job of matching the lyrics of Morissette’s songs to the story, and used dance to the utmost effect.  I gained a greater appreciation for Alanis as well.  I hope that she is happier now since that was a lot of pain and anger and disappointment that she wrote about in her younger days.

Theatre 2023: Six the Musical / Heroes of the Fourth Turning

Since I am partial to “book” musicals that are mostly sung-through, I was skeptical about watching “Six the Musical” as it only features 9 songs and the few that I heard did not convey much of a plot. Reading the synopsis wasn’t any more reassuring since the storyline itself is pretty thin and inconsequential.  Featuring the six wives of King Henry VIII in a competition to determine which of them suffered the most as his spouse, this is more of a pop concert marketed as a musical. The play started out as an entry in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and at a mere 80 minutes long with no intermission, the show doesn’t seem to have been expanded much beyond the original Fringe offering.  After an intro number titled "Ex-Wives" that uses the iconic rhyme to describe the six (Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived), each character sings a song that is meant to prove how and why she is the one who should win the contest.

After reading the program notes and reviewing to the lyrics of each woman’s song, I have gained greater appreciation for what the musical was trying to achieve in conveying not only the historical plight of each woman, but also her thoughts and feelings about her situation.  Each wife is modeled after modern-day pop stars, from the style or genre of the song that is sung and the accompanying choreography, to her attitude or demeanour, wardrobe, and hairstyle.

The main “Queenspiration” of Catherine of Aragon was Beyonce, giving the character a mature, confident “Queen Bee” vibe.  Casting a statuesque actress and dressing her in a costume reminiscent to one Beyonce wore helped to complete the comparison. The defiant anthem “No Way” expresses Catherine’s hurt at being cast aside after all putting up with Henry’s infidelities, her staunch Catholic faith that prohibited divorce and her refusal to meekly walk away from her marriage, which she considered “for life”.

Anne Boleyn is portrayed as younger and more coquettish, which is ironic since Boleyn was in her late twenties to early thirties when she married Henry, while Aragon was only twenty-three.  One of inspirations for Anne’s character was Avril Lavigne who sings “in-your-face” grunge- pop songs.  The peppy tune “Don’t Lose Your Head” alludes both to Boleyn’s beheading as well as the more colloquial meaning of not losing your cool. The lyrics are peppered with modern catch phrases and slangs such as “Sorry not sorry” and “LOL”.  Bopping along to the quick beat, Boleyn describes how she fought off Henry’s attentions while he was still married to Catherine.  This caused him to split with the Catholic Church to form the Church of England (referred to as “C of E” in the song) so that he could marry Anne.  Then came his dalliances once they were wed and her flirting with other men to make him jealous (“jel” in the lyrics), resulting in his ordering her beheading for treason.  That was quite a bit of history relayed in a 4 minute song!  Anne is dressed in green and there are several references to her “green sleeves”, alluding to the idea that Henry wrote the song/poem “Greensleeves” for her while they were courting.

Next up is Jane Seymour, dubbed “the only woman Henry truly loved”. Inspired by Adele’s power ballads, “Heart of Stone” declares Seymour’s steadfast love for Henry even though she understands that he only values her because she bore him a son and heir.  The lyrics continue to lament that she dies in childbirth and will never see her son grow up.  Of the six songs, this one contains the least exposition and is more about imagery and emotion.  The actress cast to play Seymour is made to look a bit like Adele both in terms of hairstyle and wardrobe.  There was a quirky line in the intro song “Ex-Wives” where Jane sings “Stick around and you’ll suddenly see more…” which sounds like a reference to the song “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors in addition to a pun on Jane's last name.  If so, then how clever?!

Henry’s fourth marriage was for political purposes to secure an alliance with Germany in case of a war with France.  Anne of Cleves, daughter of a German Duke, was chosen based on a portrait drawn by painter Hans Holbein the Younger.  When Henry met Anne in person, he was disappointed by her “plain” appearance.  After 6 months without consummating the union, he had the marriage amicably annulled with her consent and Anne was given a generous settlement.  Channeling hip hop artists like Nicki Minaj and Rhianna, Anne of Cleves twerks and gyrates to the song “Get Down”, which describes her luxurious life after freeing herself of Henry.  The lyrics subvert the old children’s nursery rhyme “I’m the King of the Castle.  You’re the Dirty Rascal” by having Cleves declare herself the “Queen of the Castle” in several refrains.  It is pretty clear that she did not suffer much other than the indignity of being rejected for being unattractive and at one point in the musical, she withdraws from the competition.  A German phrase (“das ist gut”) and reference to Wienerschnitzel add some flavour to Cleves’ background in the song.

The main inspiration for Katherine Howard’s character is the most obvious, as the actress is adorned with Ariana Grande’s signature long ponytail and pink skirt.  At almost 7 minutes with 4 choruses, Howard’s song “All You Wanna Do” is the longest and provides the most insight into the past of a figure who has been maligned in history as a wanton harlot. Kate was only seventeen when she married Henry, and the song makes it clear that she had been sexually preyed upon by older men since she was young, starting with her music teacher Henry Mannox and Tudor courtier Francis Dereham.  She sings “I was thirteen going on thirty” which seems like a reference to the famous line in The Sound of Music where Liesel sings “I am sixteen going on seventeen”.  The initial refrains of the pop song are upbeat, seductive and full of sexual inuendo as Howard is initially too young to realize that she has been abused.  She initially enjoys the attention and feels she is making a “connection”. By the end of the song, Katherine has wised up and is distraught at being manhandled all of her life.  The choreography supports this as the other wives (acting as background dancers) grab and paw her from all sides.  This song is so impactful as it gives a sympathetic depiction of Howard as a child being exploited, manipulated and molested since puberty by powerful men.  Howard’s character is also inspired by Britney Spears, who has also endured abuse and toxic relationships since childhood.  In fact the song All You Wanna Do is heavily influenced by Britney’s hit song “Toxic”.

Henry’s final wife, who actually survived him, was Catherine Parr.  As soon as she started to sing her song “I Don’t Need Your Love” with its smooth R&B tones, you could tell that the inspiration was Alicia Keys since the actress sounded just like her.  Parr describes how she had to give up the love of her life (Thomas Seymour) once Henry decided he wanted to marry her.  She writes a goodbye letter to Thomas and ironically tells him “I don’t need your love” which clearly isn’t true.  Rather in a later refrain, these are the words she would like to tell Henry, but doing so would not be wise.  In Parr’s brief intro during the initial song “Ex-Wives”, she sings “I’m a survivor” in the same key and rhythm as Destiny’s Child’s song Survivor.

At the end of this song, Parr questions why the stories of the wives have to be tied to the King.  She declares “That’s not my story.. there’s so much more” and conveys facts about herself, her interests and accomplishments separate from her ties to Henry.  The women decide that they should not be in competition and the final song “Six” allows each of them to re-imagine a happier ending for themselves.   Just like with so many other shows that we watched this year (&Juliet, Bad Cinderella), once again the theme of female empowerment is explored by rewriting history (which they call the “Historemix” in this musical), with the wives not just surviving, but thriving and transcending their roles as Henry’s wives.  I had fun watching this show since it was full of energy with great singing and dancing.  But I did not fully appreciate it until I did a deep dive into the lyrics.

Two days later, my husband Rich and I went to a very intense play called “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” at Crow’s Theatre.  We went into this show without any idea of what it was about, other than that it won several literary prizes and was a finalist for the Pulitzer.  We came out a bit shell-shocked and still unsure as to what it was that we just watched.  Written in 2019 by conservative American playwright Will Arbery, the play is set in 2017, eight months into the presidential term of Donald Trump, and a week after the “Unite the Right” Charlottesville riots that saw neo-Nazi white supremacists clash with counter-protesters resulting in multiple injuries and one death.  Accordingly, tensions were high and division palpable between the American left vs right.  The setting of the play is the backyard of a house party where four former students of a small conservative Catholic college in Wyoming reunite to celebrate a beloved professor being appointed as president.

Justin, Emily, Kevin and Teresa are all staunch, religious conservatives but represent different factions on the conservative political spectrum.  Teresa is an alt-right, fervent supporter of Trump, who she calls “a Golem molded from the clay of mass media .. come to save us all” and a disciple of Steve Bannon.  She believes that a sociological and ideological war is brewing.  At the other end of the spectrum is Emily, a compassionate, moderate conservative who happens to be the daughter of Gina, the new president of the college.  Emily is unfortunately afflicted with a mysterious illness that causes her debilitating pain.  She does not believe in abortion but understands that there is another point of view and empathizes with those who see it as their only alternative.  She works in a pregnancy crises centre and is friends with someone who works at Planned Parenthood as well as a drag queen.  Justin, a former Marine Corps sniper, is a militant conservative who also believes that war is inevitable but for him it will be a violent war that requires training and arming the college’s students in preparation.  Kevin is a weak, self-loathing alcoholic who craves a girlfriend but is hooked on Internet porn, tormented by the disconnect between his Catholic faith and his sexual desires.  He waffles and questions his beliefs and the polarization of the wide-ranging conservative philosophies.  He claims he voted for Trump (as they all did for one reason or another) but vomited right after.

The four interact with one another in the backyard, debating topics ranging from racism, homosexuality, abortion, pre-marital sex, as well as theology and politics, all in the context of conservative ideology.  Eventually Gina, who is an “Old-school conservative” joins them and is appalled at Teresa’s extreme viewpoints.  We did not find it particularly enjoyable to sit for over 2 hours (with no intermission), listening to a plotless play where the sole point seemed to be to highlight the mass ideological divide within the Republican party.  Being in the front row of a small space where the seating was “in-the-round” and the actors were often positioned right in front of us, there was not even an opportunity to leave if we had wanted to. It felt a bit like being in the movie “A Clockwork Orange” and having your eyelids forced open while strapped down and being forced to watching Fox News on end.

The one aspect that I did find interesting was the reference point for the title of the play, which was the 1997 book called “The Fourth Turning”, detailing the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory.  This theory by William Strauss and Neil Howe prophesizes how history moves in 80-year cycles divided into four transitional periods.  The “High” is a time of economic boom and security where institutions are strong, and individualism is weak. “Awakening” is a phase where people rebel against institutions in hopes of recapturing personal freedoms.  This is followed by “Unraveling” which is the opposite of the High phase.  Individualism is strong, Institutions are weak and culture wars are fought.  Finally the last phase which is Crisis, or the Fourth Turning” is the period of war and destruction where past institutions are destroyed and rebuilt in a new fashion.  The generation who come to adulthood during the Fourth Turning are known as “Heroes” who will lead the revolution.

Looking at recent history, the Great Depression and World War II could be identified as a Crisis period that was followed by the economic recovery of the 1950s (High) before the 1960s and 70s led to the fight for “Peace and Free Love” (Awakening).  It was during this period that the decision on Roe vs. Wade was made.  Next came the culture wars of the 1980s and 90s with battlegrounds being fought over military vs social spending, gender and sexual politics including abortion rights. (Unraveling).  It certainly seems that the period from the 2000s up to the current day have led the world into another Crisis period with military wars breaking out globally, the rise of nationalism and racial hatred and then the pandemic paralyzing the world.  So there seems to be some merit to this generational theory, at least over the past century.  Teresa explains the theory to the others, saying that they are of the Hero generation, and it is up to them to “fight bravely”.  Her most illuminating statement is about what she thinks caused the latest Crisis.  "... The crisis caused by Obama. Liberals think it's Trump. It almost doesn't matter."  Ultimately, it all depends on your point of view.

Having watched both Six the Musical and Heroes of the Fourth Turning back to back, I would like to retract all of my prior reservations about Six. In our troubled times where I get more than my fill of serious drama, violence and traumatic events just by watching the local or global news, I appreciate the escapism of light-hearted, joyous fare whose main goal is just to entertain.  As a matter of fact, as much as I have appreciated the stellar offerings from Crow’s Theatre in the past, maybe they can take note and program more “happy, feel-good” plays and musicals for their future seasons?

Theatre 2023: In Dreams

I am always a bit leery about jukebox musicals that try to co-opt popular songs originally written by or for well-known singing artists or  groups, in an attempt to turn their lyrics into sung dialogue that fits a storyline.  Mamma Mia remains the gold standard but there have been many less successful wannabes that followed.  Often the lyrics don’t make sense in the context of the plot, or the plot becomes so convoluted in order to fit the lyrics. The first show of our 2023/2024 Mirvish subscription series was the new jukebox musical In Dreams, featuring songs by Roy Orbison who had a successful solo career in the 1960s and 70s and then formed the super rock group The Traveling Wilburys which also included Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty.  The book for the musical was written by David West Read who successfully wrote the plot for the Tony Award nominated musical &Juliet as well as the charming TV series Schitt’s Creek, so I was cautiously optimistic before attending his new show.  I am happy to report that for the most part, the storyline was cohesive, touching and occasionally humorous while the lyrics of the songs fit well in the plot and worked to advance the action as should be the case in a good musical.

In Dreams deals with Kenna, the lead singer of the former rock band “Heartbreak Radio” which included her best friend Jane, bassist Donovan now married to Jane, and drummer Ramsey who was Kenna’s ex.  When Kenna receives a dire medical diagnosis, she decides that she needs to reunite with her estranged band members for one last party.  She selects a Mexican restaurant in New Mexico that holds memorials for the deceased.  The restaurant is run by Oscar, who is grieving the recent death of his parents, his pregnant wife Nicole and sassy widowed grandmother Ana Sofia.

The title of the show and the name of the rock band are both titles of Orbison songs that are in the musical’s song list. As well, it seems like the setting was inspired by the Traveling Wilbury song called “Margarita” which of course is featured during one of the scenes.  As with all jukebox musicals, the songs drive the plot for better or worse.  Continuing with the Mexican theme, parts of some of the songs are actually sung in Spanish by the relevant characters, perhaps to give their heritage more authenticity.

Many of Orbison’s and the Traveling Wilbury’s most famous songs are represented and weaved cleverly into the plot.  After Kenna convinces Oscar, Nicole and Ana- Sofia to hold her memorial party even though she is still alive, they sing “You Got It (anything you want..)” to agree to her wishes.  When describing why the band lost touch, the song “Communication Breakdown” is performed.  Ramsey is now an Uber Driver and as he rushes to the party in hopes of rekindling his relationship with Kenna, he hilariously sings “I Drove All Night (to get to you)”.   A sweet subplot involves Ana Sofia and fellow recently widowed George who are both lonely and miss their spouses.  They connect over a beautiful mashup of the songs “Blue Bayou” and “Only the Lonely”.  Eventually, George proceeds to court Ana Sofia with the iconic “Pretty Woman”, perhaps Orbison’s best known song due to the success of the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere romantic comedy.  But the showstopper was Kenna’s singing “Crying” to end the first act as she laments pushing Ramsey away to spare him from learning of her illness.  Tony award winner Lena Hall absolutely killed this song as well as “Love Hurts” and a solo in the second act where the group sings “Handle With Care”.  Hall’s voice can start hauntingly soft and then slowly build into a powerful belt that metaphorically blows the roof off the theatre.

I did have a few reservations about this musical.  I liked the first act more than the second, perhaps because more well-known songs were sung earlier on and the ones I did not know did not resonate as much with me. Also, the first act had a faster pace while the second act dragged slightly.  I felt a bit indifferent to Oscar’s sub-plot with his struggles to deal with his parents being gone and his inability to share his feelings with Nicole.  This allowed him to sing the titular “In Dreams” as his vehicle to communicate with them and for her to respond in a Spanish version of “Crying”.  Maybe if these characters had been more richly developed, I might have cared more?  I also found it interesting that yet again (just like in all five shows which my husband Rich and I watched on Broadway in May), there was the addition of a gay character portrayed in the show, although in this case, it was a peripheral and stereotypically flamboyant one.  This is starting to feel like an obligatory trope that needs to somehow be inserted into every current show.  Many of Roy Orbison’s songs are based on themes of loneliness, pain and heartache perhaps fueled by the multiple personal tragedies that he faced.   In Dreams did a good job of reflecting these themes in the show, but in striving for an upbeat, hopeful ending, it undercut some of the original plot points introduced at the start of the show.

But overall, I found In Dreams to be very entertaining and enjoyable.  It felt like some of the songs had been written specifically for this show, as opposed to having a plot that needed to jump through illogical hoops in order to justify the lyrics.  That is the mark of a good juke box musical.  If tickets were not so expensive, I would consider watching this show again after carefully listening to Orbison’s or the Traveling Wilbury’s versions of the songs to become more familiar with the lyrics.  I think I would appreciate the plot more the second time around.