➤ JAGGED LITTLE PILL, from p.24
not overcome the curse of the jukebox
musical.
While it would be tempting to
blame book writer Cody, who has
scant theater experience, that
would be unfair. She has devised
a complex, provocative tale ripped
from today’s headlines about
wrenching familial strife hidden
behind a shiny façade of normalcy.
At the center of the action is the
Healy family, who live in a small,
affl uent town in Connecticut. Mary
Jane (Elizabeth Stanley) is a stayat
home mom more obsessed with
status and Soul Cycle classes than
meeting the needs of her workaholic
husband Steve (Sean Allan
Krill), her All-American, Harvardbound
son, Nick (Derek Klena),
and her rebellious, activist daughter,
Frankie (Celia Rose Gooding).
It doesn’t take a genius to fi gure
out that the cheery opening scene,
where Mary Jane pens her annual
Christmas letter boasting of the
Healys’ accomplishments, will give
way to a darker scenario, where
shocking secrets are exposed.
Regrettably, the earnest tuner
tries too hard to be of-the-moment,
cramming in themes such as bisexuality,
social media bullying,
bigotry, opioid abuse, gender equality,
online pornography, school gun
violence, and even rape. Not only is
Frankie adopted, which raises its
own concerns, she is black, opening
up themes about racial tension.
Frankie holds a protest sign
that says, “Does my period scare
you?”
And while the songs mesh better
with the narrative than most
jukebox musicals, quite a few still
feel off-kilter, distancing us from
the material. The passion feels unearned.
The whole shebang comes across
as a bit trite. You could say that
“Jagged Little Pill” confuses attitude
with platitude.
Normally, it’s the sing-along familiarity
of the songs that lifts and
carries us through such shows.
But for the casual Morissette fan
like myself who knew fewer than
half the hits, many numbers registered
as a big “meh.”
Make no mistake, on a nostalgic
level I enjoyed chart toppers like
Elizabeth Stanley in “Jagged Little Pill.”
“Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” and
“You Learn.” And the scathing “You
Oughta Know,” sung by Frankie’s
jilted ex-girlfriend (Lauren Patten,
who reminded me of Ellen Page in
“Juno”) had the crowd on its feet, a
bona fi de showstopper.
The appeal of many successful
jukebox musicals is that the book
is based on the life of the musical
artist, such as “Tina: The Tina
Turner Musical,” “Beautiful: The
Carole King Musical,” and “Jersey
Boys.” There is no such connection
MATTHEW MURPHY
with “Jagged Little Pill.”
That said, this well-intentioned
tale of suburban subversion resurrects
a canon of Morissette gems
that deserves to be heard by a new
generation.
JAGGED LITTLE PILL | Broadhurst
Theatre, 235 W. 44th St. | Tue.
& Thu. at 7 p.m.; Wed. at 7:30 p.m.;
Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; Wed. & Sat. at 2
p.m..; Sun. at 3 p.m. | $59-$399 at
JaggedLittlePill.com | Two hrs., 35
mins., with intermission
Jeffrey Solomon as a gay Santa.
➤ THE SANTA CLOSET, from p.24
not taking place. They were seen
as recruiting or ‘normalizing’ behavior.”
Solomon ironically added,
“Wouldn’t it be terrible for a kid to
feel normal.”
As part of Solomon’s experiences,
he also started talking
to elementary school teachers
BREE MICHAEL WARNER
who had come out to their kids.
He found that their actions were
not intended as political statements
but rather came about as
honest responses to the types of
questions elementary school kids
naturally ask. It’s impossible to
quantify, Solomon observed, the
level of shame and invisibility
LGBTQ kids may experience and
the message they internalize that
their feelings are unmentionable.
All of this prompted Solomon to
delve deeper. Under the guise of
doing graduate level research, he
met with a woman who was virulently
anti-gay and determined to
“protect” children even as she produced
children’s entertainment.
“She was saying something
about Santa and how Santa
represents ‘good values,’ and I
thought, ‘Why does she get Santa?
Why can’t I get Santa, and what
happens if the biggest childhood
icon of all time just happens to be
gay?,’” Solomon recalled thinking.
Though he’s Jewish, Solomon
said that as a kid he was “Santacrazy.”
Out of that passion and
his newfound interest in talking
with kids about LGBTQ issues, a
play was born.
“The Santa Closet,” which has
a three-week run at TeatroCírculo
through December 22, has been
rewritten over the past decade to
refl ect advances in attitudes toward
LGBTQ issues. But Solomon
is quick to point out that when it
comes to kids’ exposure to LGBTQ
stories, there is still a long
way to go.
The premise of the piece is that
after Santa is outed, he receives
letters from children all over the
world expressing support and —
as kids will — asking questions.
There is also a charming backstory,
complete with history, the
appearance of Santa’s agent, and
the “real” story about who Mrs.
Claus is. Ultimately — and this
is probably no spoiler — Santa
comes to accept himself just as
kids automatically did.
Solomon’s piece reminds us
that we don’t need to let others
control our stories, particularly
when they’re shaming or harmful.
We have the power to control
the narratives, to make them fi t
our lives and provide a source of
comfort and joy. And that’s a wonderful,
welcome holiday message.
THE SANTA CLOSET | TeatroCírculo
Theatre, 64 E. Fourth St.,
btwn. Bowery & Second Ave., third
fl . | Through Dec. 22: Wed.-Thu. at
7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; Sat. at 2
p.m.; Sun . at 3 p.m. | $35-$55 at
web.ovationtix.com or 866-811-4111
| Eighty mins., no intermission
GayCityNews.com | December 5 - December 18, 2019 25
/JaggedLittlePill.com
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/GayCityNews.com
