"JAGGED LITTLE PILL" IS A MUSICAL PRESCRIPTION AT THE BUSHNELL

Alanis Morissette’s 1995 groundbreaking rock album has inspired a musical that will have Bushnell audiences jumping to their feet. The American family with all its wonderments, worries and warts will be revealed from Tuesday, May 9 to Sunday, May 14 in “Jagged Little Pill.” Come make the acquaintance of the Healey family from Connecticut. On the surface they are picture perfect, all that you would want for yourself. But life can be messy and surfaces don’t always reveal what is painfully obvious behind closed doors. If you look closer, you will see the cracks and stresses underneath that show painful truths: no family is perfect, nor should it be. In this explosive rock concert experience, you will bear witness to a marriage that desperately needs counseling, the inherent danger of opioids and the fear of taking one too many, the agony of being replaced in a relationship you once treasured and the pain of surviving the angst driven teenage years. Here the agony of keeping secrets and struggling to overcome problems abound in soul searching lyrics in tunes like "Hand Over Feet,” Hand in My Pocket,” “Ironic,” “Disappear,” and “You Ought to Know.” These songs of Morissette’s are often cowritten with Glen Ballard, with book by Diablo Cody, directed by Diane Paulus, choreographed by Larry Cherkaoul, with musical arrangements by Tom Kitt. For tickets ($51 and up), call the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Be prepared. “Jagged Little Pill” contains a plethora of social issues, from adoption, date rape, disability, addiction, racism and teenage trauma. This show also contains joy, strength, heartache, empowerment, catharsis, and love. As a jukebox musical, it has been termed “exhilarating and fearless." It has been nominated for a record 15 Tony Awards and declared “redemptive, rousing and real” by The New York Times as one of the “best hopes of Broadway."