“You Learn” by Alanis Morissette

I had my doubts about how compelling a storyline would accompany this summer’s world premiere of  “Jagged Little Pill,” a new musical  based on Alanis Morissette’s 1995 Grammy-winning alt-rock album. How could this newest jukebox musical, a genre often panned by theater critics, inspire evocative narrative when so many others have failed? My answer to this question came in the words and experience of the show’s final number — “You Learn.”

Indeed, fresh drama did rise from a mesh of Morissette songs, thanks to a book adaptation by Diablo Cody. Inspired by the lyrics, Cody creates eight major characters, each with an honest-to-goodness problem — problems that connect to the edgy, if not sarcastic, advice in “You Learn.”

I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone…resonates onstage through the stories of two broken relationships and a wrestle with rape culture. Painful? Yes, but an impetus for characters to learn from the jagged little pills they and society must swallow.  

Credit: alanismorrisette.com

I recommend biting off more than you can chew…almost destroys the central character — a supermom with a penchant for writing Christmas letters. Her most recent holiday correspondence offers way too much info and way too little recognition of the real issues raging in her family. In the end, she must swallow the jagged little pills of her own life — addiction and buried trauma — before she can start to heal herself and her loved ones.

I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth — Who among us has not gotten ourselves into this situation? Yet, a self-imposed moment of awkwardness can teach us humility and respect for others.

Feel free
Throw it down (the caution blocks you from the wind)
Hold it up (to the rays)
You wait and see when the smoke clears

When all is said and done, “Jagged Little Pill”  gifts its audience with an invaluable life lesson.

You live you learn
You love you learn
You cry you learn
You lose you learn
You bleed you learn
You scream you learn

Watch as original cast members of “Jagged Little Pill” perform “You Learn.”