by Cari Lynn Pace

If you expect this rock music show to be loud and in-your-face, you are correct. What you may not expect is how Alanis Morissette’s emotional songs resonate in today’s angry world.

Drug use? Sexual predators? Political privilege? Color bias? Lover infidelity?

They’re all here, exploding from the intimate Novato Theater Company Playhouse stage with non-stop energy. The choreography of co-directors Katie Wickes and Jenny Boynton (also the extraordinary talents behind Marin Musical Theatre Company, the producing company) and the live band under the direction of Megan Schoenbohm gets the cast jumping.

Jagged Little Pill handles rough topics with empathy as it sweeps the audience into a story of a family desperately trying to keep it together. Mom, in a helicopter role done by astounding talent Susan Zelinsky, can’t shake her dependence on opiates after a car accident. Dad, enacted by fellow veteran Sean O’Brien, escapes his familial frustration with work. Their son Nick, in a complex role by Lucas Michael Chandler, is faced with a choice of betraying his buddy or betraying his integrity. A hard-won college acceptance hangs in the balance.

The problem child of their family is their adopted daughter Frankie, in a blow-out role by Imri M. Tate. Frankie is wild, filled with a poet’s soul and a powerhouse set of lungs. She has a lot of issues, being a Black teen raised in a White suburban family.

Frankie’s lover Jo, mightily enacted by Evvy Carlstrom-March, matches Frankie’s soaring vocals, sounding much like Alanis Morisette herself. What a voice! These two sing “One Hand in My Pocket” while the tables they sit on swing around like an amusement ride.

When I commented on the superb vocal strength of these actors, director Wickes revealed “We cast the voices first.” Good thing the actors have the chops to dig in to their characters.

In supporting roles, Sage Alberto as Bella, Jack O’Reilly as Phoenix, and Nic Moore as Andrew also provide outstanding vocals. They are joined by thirteen skillfully determined young talents who sing and dance as they bring indignation and anger to the stage.

Many of the songs’ lyrics are difficult to understand unless one is familiar with Morisette’s same-named album. It matters not. Standout performances of “You Oughta Know” and “You Learn” engage with or without familiarity. The message, the songs, the staging, and the characters grab you and leave you stunned.

Don’t miss it.

Playing through April 12, 2026 at the Novato Theater Company, 5420 Nave Drive, Novato.

CONTENT ADVISORY – Jagged Little Pill includes mature subject matter, including references to sexual assault and addiction. The production also uses strobe light effects.

Click HERE for more information and tickets.

Photos by Katie Wickes

Cari Lynn Pace is a long-time Bay Area theatre critic whose reviews were regularly featured in the Marinscope Community Newspapers.