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Morissette said she was totally psyched to collaborate with Cody and Paulus on her album’s metamorphosis. It became quite clear from the get-go that it would not be a jukebox musical or a bio-musical. But the team seems OK with the term, ‘therapeusical,’ ” Cody said with a laugh. “This show is about processing stuff that you’ve been through.”

The stage version of Jagged Little Pill sets a story steeped in hot-button issues like opiate addiction and gender identity to the singer’s raw 1995 album.

“The reason why, for me, this felt like a natural theatrical endeavor, was because I hear characters in those songs,” Kitt says. “They already feel so theatrical to me, so the fact this album already comes to this process with songs that have story and character and real drama to them, I think is such a wonderful and important thing.”

“The more you dig into it, the more it gives you. It’s pop music, but man is it deep,” Paulus says, seated for an interview at the ART’s offices. “We go to the theater to rip open our hearts and our minds and feel our soul go through a transformation. And [Morissette is] doing that in her music.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten involved if the material felt dated and this was going to be some kind of nostalgic cash grab,” she added. “To me the music is profound, the songs are really powerful, and so this is not an ordinary jukebox musical.”

Ahead of the hotly anticipated debut of Jagged Little Pill this month at the A.R.T., the world-famous artistic director gets tough on Boston’s business community—and that’s a good thing.

Jagged Little Pill tells an original story inspired by the themes and emotions laid bare in Alanis Morissette’s Grammy Award-winning album that introduced beloved anthems, including “Ironic,” “You Oughta Know,” and “Hand In My Pocket.” It follows a family grappling with uncomfortable truths about many of the urgent issues deeply affecting our communities and our world today.

Alanis Morissette‘s highly anticipated musical, Jagged Little Pill, premieres onstage at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 5 and the singer-songwriter can’t help but show off her excitement.

Ever since Alanis Morissette’s blistering song “You Oughta Know” from Jagged Little Pill first hit the airwaves in 1995, music has never been the same. Now, the American Repertory Theater is gearing up to expand the scope of the iconic album with a world premiere musical adaptation, directed by Diane Paulus and with the book written by Academy Award-winning writer Diablo Cody. We chatted with Cody about what you oughta know before the musical’s premiere on May 5 at the Loeb Drama Center.

Pill deals with themes more complex than traditional musical fare — “It’s about swallowing hard truths and being happier choosing to face reality,” says book writer Diablo Cody.