It's been nine months since Broadway shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving theaters dark. While there is some light at the tunnel with recent health developments, theaters will remain shuttered through next May, and shows have been left to find new ways to connect with their audiences. One show, Jagged Little Pill, has found its message more relevant than ever in current times and has provided a glimpse of hope for the future of theater with a live reunion concert in New York City.
In an empty theater, fully in character during each song, and raising money for charity to boot; the cast of Jagged was absolutely in their element, belting out the iconic music of Alanis Morissette to an audience tuning in from all over the world. Singing through many songs from the show, there was a clear sense of joy radiating through the screen. And in the midst of a global pandemic where the arts have been scarce, what more can one ask for?
With massive amounts of theater and musicals being produced for a strictly digital format or being adapted for the big screen, a semi-staged selection of songs from the Alanis Morissette musical couldn't have come at a better time. Elizabeth Stanley, Sean Alan Krill, Celia Gooding, Derek Klena, Lauren Patten, Kathryn Gallagher, and Antonio Cipriano - alongside members of the show's band and ensemble - are just joyous to watch as they belted out songs from the show, each with more power and emotion than the last.
While Jagged and all other Broadway shows remain on hiatus due to restrictions on gathering in indoor spaces, there is still much to celebrate with the show having received fifteen Tony Award nominations and a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. The reunion of this cast only showed the strength and resilience of New York theater and its creators as well as proving that there is light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long we'll have to wait for it.