YOU LEARN…
OR YOU DON’T

The songs still hit hard, but
the family drama built around
them feels overly familiar

Grace Margaret Craig and company in Center REP’s Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill: The Musical

More often than not, as a critic, I like to go into a show cold, without many expectations. Given that Jagged Little Pill is built around Alanis Morissette’s landmark 1995 album, I assumed it might follow the Jersey Boys or Beautiful: The Carole King Musical model and tell the performer’s life story through her music. Instead, Diablo Cody’s book uses Morissette’s songs to underscore a fictional contemporary family drama.

The music is terrific. The story, less so.

Chanel Tilghman and company

Now playing at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, Jagged Little Pill introduces audiences to the Healy family through their annual Christmas card. The seemingly perfect household includes hardworking father Steve (Keith Pinto), wife and mother Mary Jane (Molly Bell), high-achieving son Nick (Zeke Edmonds), and adopted daughter Frankie (Chanel Tilghman).

Chanel Tilghman and Mario Houle and company

As with any family projecting perfection, appearances prove deceptive. Steve is rarely home, consumed by work. Mary Jane struggles to maintain the image of the ideal wife and mother while privately relying on prescription painkillers. Nick faces the pressures of graduation and acceptance to Harvard. Frankie, a mixed-race teenager attending a predominantly white high school, spends much of her time with her outspoken friend Jo (Mickey Hanano Skinner), focusing on social justice issues that often seem to fall on deaf ears.

Keith Pinto and Molly Bell

The family’s carefully maintained façade begins to crack following a traumatic incident at a high school party involving Bella (Grace Margaret Craig) and one of the school’s popular athletes, Andrew (Chris Aceves), who also happens to be one of Nick’s closest friends. The aftermath forces the Healys and their community to confront difficult questions, producing sharply different responses about responsibility, truth and loyalty.

Grace Margaret Criag, Chanel Tilghman, and Mickey Hanano Skinner

With all this suburban angst and drama, Alanis Morissette’s songs provide an excellent backdrop. Many of her biggest hits are featured, including “Ironic,” “You Learn,” “All I Really Want” and “You Oughta Know.” The opening-night audience was filled with enthusiastic fans—many of whom sang along, swayed in their seats and greeted familiar songs with cheers. That kind of response comes with the territory when a musical is built around beloved pop music.

Grace Margaret Craig and Molly Bell

As is often the case at Lesher, the band is hidden from view. Under the direction of Eryn Allen, the musicians provide a rich and energetic sound that brings the score vividly to life. Unfortunately, the amplification occasionally works against the performers. At several points, the orchestra overwhelms singers who struggle to project clearly even with microphones.

The company

In addition to the principal cast, ten ensemble members keep the stage in constant motion. Adin Walker‘s choreography is fluid and energetic, ensuring there is rarely a static moment. Christopher Fitzer‘s scenic design employs movable oval units that are quickly rearranged from scene to scene, while Kurt Landisman‘s lighting creates a theatrical atmosphere that helps maintain the show’s momentum.

Chanel Tilghman and company

Alanis Morissette fans will almost certainly leave satisfied. The Center often attracts older, longtime theatergoers, making it refreshing to see a noticeably younger audience in attendance. It’s a shame that so many jukebox musicals are little more than collections of familiar songs attached to formulaic plots. While Jagged Little Pill is undeniably entertaining, its dramatic framework often feels assembled from recognizable contemporary issues and television-movie conflicts. The songs soar. The storytelling never quite reaches the same height.

Zeke Edmonds

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photos by Kevin Berne

Jagged Little Pill
Center Repertory Company
Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr. in Walnut Creek
Tue–Fri at 7; Sat at 2 & 7; Sun at 2
ends on June 28, 2026
for tickets, call 925.943.7469 or visit Center REP

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