Screenwriter Diablo Cody said the “Jagged Little Pill” musical feels like therapy for the production team.
The show, which follows an affluent family in the suburbs of Connecticut, deals with tough topics including rape, opioid addiction and sexuality.
“There are a lot of issues in the show that affected me personally and you just want to write about things that are your lived experience,” Cody — who wrote the stage adaptation for “Jagged Little Pill” — told Page Six on Thursday during opening night of the Broadway show. “A lot of the issues in the show are things that affected me or have affected people in the production and so for us its almost like this crazy therapy session every night.”
When Cody, 41, was first tapped to write the musical, she said she listened to the hit ’90s Alanis Morissette album on repeat.
“I found there were themes emerging, and a lot of the songs are about acknowledging pain,” she told us. “They’re about acknowledging the crappy things that happen and healing because your eyes are open, as opposed to living in denial, trying to pretend that things didn’t happen, trying to sweep things under the rug.”
She continued, “This is the theme that Alanis comes back to over and over again in her lyrics. So I thought, ‘That’s what this show has to be about.’ It has to be about the power of opening your eyes and healing because you are courageous enough to say, ‘I’ve been hurt.'”
The Oscar winner said she hopes the show is a “cathartic experience” for audience members.
“I want people to feel seen when they see this show. I want them to feel like they are recognized,” she said.
“Grace and Frankie” star Peter Gallagher, whose daughter plays a character who was raped at a high school party, told Page Six the show can be hard to watch for him.
“I was prepared for it because I knew Kathryn was concerned, but she did it so beautifully and she did it so well. I was so impressed with her work as an actor,” he said boasting that he’s seen the show many times already. “I know it takes a toll on Kathryn because it’s a hard thing to do, but I’m just impressed with her work, but yes, as a dad, yes, it hurts.”