I admit I wondered how a small theater company could handle a big rock musical that has generally been produced only in large theaters. Ovations Theatre handled it well, though, and Jagged Little Pill is blasting its way through their Montgomery County black-box theater with verve.
The musical is based on Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name and is written by the award-winning Diablo Cody. The songs are bouncy and contextualize issues of adolescent quirkiness, queerness, classism, racism, adoption, addiction, and teen girls’ agency and empowerment.
The story starts with Mom, Mary Jane Healy, played with depth by Allison Fitzgerald (rotating performances with Jenna Rahrle), preparing an annual Christmas newsletter filled with family news and drummed-up achievements. Mary Jane bends herself into a pretzel trying to present a perfect family image to match the well-endowed, posh Connecticut upper-crust moms.
Fitzgerald has the theatrical chops to relay Mary Jane’s roller-coaster emotional range of dutiful patience, fatigue, and family cheerleader while teetering on the edge of a complete meltdown. She wrangles with her rambunctious daughter and dotes on her compliant son, all while feeling ignored by her work-focused husband and smiling to keep up appearances for the snippy neighbor ladies. While Fitzgerald’s spoken text is a bit too mild and soft-spoken, her songs are robust. The duet with her daughter Frankie is stunning. Garret Matthews, as Dad, comes across as doing his best to provide for the family while feeling neglected amid the turmoil and Mary Jane’s foibles.
Croix Harris as do-good brother Nick is the academic achiever who tries to appease Mom and comfort his sister Frankie all while getting accepted into Harvard. Harris’s Nick is intentional and well-meaning as he tries to be “Perfect” per his well-delivered solo. Dara Schweitzer as Jo and Christian Torres as Phoenix are both love interests for Frankie, who is finding her way through adolescence as a Black adoptee in a white family. Over the course of the show, the family is forced to confront a secret that pops through the surface of their picture-perfect Xmas newsletters — that Mary Jane is addicted to opioids that were initially prescribed after a car accident.
The standout performance is by Brielle Bertrand as teen daughter Frankie, who has a bucket full of issues, enough to fill two musicals. The storyline told in Jagged Little Pill has been criticized over the years for trying to cover too much, but director Darnell Patrick Morris sidesteps the minefields by keeping a clear focus on the relationships. Betrand has the vocals and presence to belt out her numbers while relaying the sensitivity of a teen stumbling along into self-discovery. All of the voices blend beautifully in tight harmony as well as in several complex passages of discordant tonality, quite a feat.
Production design (including sound and lights) features a set by the multitalented Morris, with cascading, duo-sided, ladder-like steps on both sides of the stage for a multilevel effect to support the cast’s maneuvers, entrances, and exits. The versatile set uses roll-out furniture to transform the center space into a cozy living room, a school locker area, or even a hospital room. The rocking band under the direction of drummer Mayumi Criffie keeps the decibel level on par for the space and the voices, proving you don’t have to blast to smithereens to rock the house. My only qualm is the heavy use of atmospheric mist, which creates an effective haze but is a bit much throughout the entire show in the small space.
Now celebrating its 11th season, the Ovations Theatre Company was founded by DMV native Morris and is, says its website, “the DC-metro area’s only black and queer owned theatre education and performance program for all ages.”
In this time of strident disregard for inclusion and cultural consideration, it was thrilling to enjoy the cultural affirmations in the theater’s entryway, named the Harriet, after Harriet Tubman. Ovations is truly a little theater that can. The rest of Ovation’s season is just as rambunctiously ambitious featuring such upcoming shows as Pippin, Rent, Parade, and Sunday in the Park with George. This company might be out of the way — it’s in an industrial complex off the highway in Gaithersburg — but it’s worth the hunt and trip.
Running Time: Two hours and 10 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
Jagged Little Pill plays through July 12, 2026 (Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM, Sunday at 2 PM), presented by Ovations Theatre at The Harriet, 16021 Industrial Drive, Bay 7, Gaithersburg, MD. Purchase tickets ($27) online or email ovationstheatre@gmail.com.
Jagged Little Pill
Based on Alanis Morissette’s album Jagged Little Pill featuring her music and lyrics
Book by Diablo Cody
Additional Music by Glen Ballard
CAST
Mary Jane Healy: Allison Fitzgerald/Jenna Rahrle (rotating)
Steve Healy: Garret Matthews
Nick Healy: Croix Harris
Frankie Healy: Brielle Bertrand
Jo: Dara Schweitzer
Bella: Ivanna Barrientos/Melanie Kurstin (rotating)
Phoenix: Christian Torres
Ensemble: Logan Dechter, Ava Evans, Natasha Scott
BAND
Drums/Conductor: Mayumi Griffie
Keys: Anthony Cabourel
Bass: Ruben Vellekoop
PRODUCTION
Director, Production Design & Artistic Director: Darnell Patrick Morris
Associate Artistic Director: Carly Schwartz
Music Director: Jon Neuhoff
Stage Manager: Erin Dodge
Production Assistant: Camille Freedman
Technical Director: Joel Richon
SEE ALSO:
Ovations Theatre offers theater education and performance experience for all ages (feature by Lisa Traiger, February 27, 2024)
