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[0:00] Jackson Klein: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm your host, Jackson Klein. In the final installment of our series highlighting musicals from the Fall 2019 season and their brilliant ensembles, we're celebrating Jagged Little Pill. After a world premiere at American Repertory Theater in 2018, Jagged Little Pill opened on Broadway on December 5, 2019. Adapted from Alanis Morissette's hit album of the same title, this musical features a diverse ensemble of individuals helping to bring the story of the Healy family to life. Eleven members of the original ensemble made their Broadway debuts in the show. One of these ensemblists is Logan Hart, who plays the featured role of Andrew. We spoke to him about his audition process for the show at BroadwayCon earlier this year.

[1:13] Logan Hart: I have been with Jagged Little Pill since about 2013 as well. I was involved in the very first developmental workshops of Jagged Little Pill, and I auditioned about six or seven times over the course of a week. They were trying to get it cast fairly quickly, but I was in for six or seven times. Around the fifth or so time, I was auditioning for Diane Paulus, our director, and she gave me some sides for one of the roles in the show, which was Andrew, the role that I'm currently playing. But they gave the sides to me in the audition and asked me to come back five minutes later to do those sides, and I came back in with the sides and I thought I blew it. So I sent a little email to the casting director to say, please bring me in one more time.

I know that I can do better than this if you just give me a day to digest it. I went home, I worked my sides, came back the next day, went through the audition. They didn't give me any adjustments, and I thought that I had completely blown it. I thought there was no way in the world I was getting cast, and the next day I got a call from my agent that I had booked it. So you kind of never know in the audition process. Sometimes you think it went fantastically. It's down to you and one other person. You're like, I totally booked it, and you don't get it. Or the complete opposite is true. You think you blew it, and the next day you find out you're going to be in a Broadway musical.

[2:31] Jackson Klein: That's a lot of chutzpah that you felt strong enough about what else you could do that you...

[2:37] Logan Hart: That's actually the first time that I had ever done that, to reach out and say, hey listen, give me one more try. And it was at the prompting of a teacher of mine that I had been working the sides with, and they said, you know, they gave you like five to ten minutes. It's worth a shot to send that email, and I'm glad that I did. My agent called. He said, how are you doing? And I was laying in bed. I was like, I'm doing good. How are you? He said, well, do you know why I'm calling? And of course I'm thinking, they want to see me again. I totally bombed the audition there. Like, why do you even have this client? Something along those lines, and I said, I'm just gonna do this. And I was like, I'm gonna do it.

And I'm like, what are you doing? And he's like, I'm just gonna do this. Like, why do you even have this client? Something along those lines. And I said, I'm assuming it's about Jagged Little Pill. And he said, yes, do you know why? And I said, I booked it? And he said, yes, congratulations!

[3:37] Logan Hart: Swimming in your stomach, wait until the dust settles. You live, you learn. Not one, but two members of the Jagged Little Pill cast were named 2019-20 season standouts by The Ensemblist. The first, Antonio Cipriano, shines in his feature as Phoenix, a love interest of Frankie. Imbuing his performance with slick vocals and winning charm, Cipriano had us falling head over feet. Earlier this year, we spoke to Antonio for a feature on our blog, read now by Angela Trocarico. One of the season standouts is Antonio Cipriano, who plays Phoenix in Jagged Little Pill. Cipriano's journey with Jagged Little Pill started in a rather unconventional way, with a Facebook message. After the 2017 Jimmy Awards, in which he was a finalist, he received a message on Facebook from Steven Koppel, who was casting Jagged Little Pill, asking him to audition for Phoenix.

Though skeptical at first, Cipriano sent in a video audition because his mom really liked Alanis Morissette. A few days after the live audition, I found out I had landed the role of Phoenix for the workshop version of the show. So this was not a guaranteed Broadway opportunity because I would have to prove myself at the workshop and the out-of-town tryout in Boston to eventually be a part of the Broadway company. In a way, everything up until I had that Broadway contract was an audition.

[5:01] Antonio Cipriano: As a member of the workshop company, I had the unique opportunity to help build a character that had a lot of myself infused into it. During the first read-through of the script, Diane Paulus, the director of Jagged Little Pill, gave everyone an opportunity to voice opinions on what worked and what could use changing. This was an experience that I'd never had before. I had the opportunity to share my opinion, and it may actually have weight in what happens in the show. A moment between me and one of my castmates offstage actually led to one of my favorite moments onstage. Celia and I were rehearsing the bed scene for the very first time, and I happened to be wearing the dog tag that my grandmother gave me with no shirt on.

Lauren came into the room and instantly started dying laughing when she saw I was wearing dog tags with no shirt. So we ran the scene the next time, and out of nowhere during the scene, Lauren shouts, he was wearing dog tags with no shirt like a douche. This moment of improv led to not only the creation of a moment in the show, but inspired show merch as well. Throughout the development of the musical, my role as Phoenix grew and changed as the show demanded it. What started out as a rather small role outside of the ensemble was expanded between the workshop and the out-of-town tryout with the addition of one song, "That I Would Be Good." Before that, audiences would only catch glimpses of Phoenix, but now I feel audiences have a better understanding of the character and the purposes he serves.

It adds a complexity to his relationship with Frankie. There's more there than just falling in love. You know, Phoenix and Frankie are able to open themselves up to one another, and by doing that, they're able to empathize with each other's situations, which in turn drives their attraction to one another.

[6:46] Antonio Cipriano: I feel my role in the show has continued to grow since the original workshop, given that a lot of thought had to go into my physical presence on the stage. I serve two purposes. One, of course, is Phoenix, but I am also a member of the show's ensemble, and I say there was some strategic thought put into where I would come into my conscience role so that audiences wouldn't confuse me in those scenes with scenes where I'm Phoenix. "That I Would Be Good" remains one of my favorite moments in the show, in part because I feel it's relevant to most teens today. Will I be good if I did nothing? Will I be good if I got resentful? Will I be loved even when I'm my true self? These are questions that teens ask themselves on a daily basis, and if someone in the audience can see themselves on that stage and know that it is okay to ask those questions, and that they will be good, is a major reason why it is my favorite part to perform in the show.

Jagged Little Pill is a show unafraid to shy away from making a statement and standing up to various injustices. It is deeply rooted in issues of today and portrays them in a way that is in your face. We are taking such vulnerable experiences and bringing them to life on stage. At points, it can be very uncomfortable, but I've always believed that if you're not uncomfortable, you can never grow or learn. We have to sit in that discomfort for a moment, and then you can fully understand something and make a change. We want people walking away from the show having learned something about either themselves or the people around them.

[8:07] Antonio Cipriano: For the past two and a half years, I've been on this journey with Jagged Little Pill, which I say has been something I've dreamt about for years. After the workshop and out-of-town production, Jagged Little Pill also gave me my Broadway debut and the chance to be immortalized with the production on their original Broadway cast recording. Looking back to that nervous and excited little 17-year-old boy who walked into the rehearsal room on the first day thinking nothing could get better than this? Well, little Antonio, just you wait.

[8:49] Jackson Klein: Our second season standout from Jagged Little Pill is Heather Lange. As Mary Jane's subconscious, Heather Lange brings Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Jagged Little Pill choreography to life with great depth and masterful storytelling, most notably during the song "Uninvited." Lange's performance is thrilling to watch and gives the audience a greater understanding of the leading ladies in her life. In an interview read now by Mo Brady, Heather discusses performing "Uninvited."

[9:25] Heather Lange: Last fall, I was dazzling audiences at the Broadhurst Theatre with my stunning portrayal of Dream Mary Jane in Jagged Little Pill. But just a year earlier, I was sidelined with a hip injury that may have stopped my dance career forever. My hip surgery was in March of 2019, just a few months before making my debut in Jagged Little Pill on Broadway. Therefore, the decision to have the surgery didn't come lightly. Performing and dancing had become painful, with my quality of life affected beyond the stage as well. I had to hold my body together because it felt like at any moment I could get more injured, I explained. And on top of that, I was internalizing all of that pain. Where does that pain go? Back into the body.

[10:19] Heather Lange: Now, I say there's more trust, flexibility, and openness every time I dance, and I showcase that nightly in "Uninvited." The number is a duet between me and Elizabeth Stanley, where I am the dance and movement counterpart to Stanley's vocals and lyrics. The genesis of the scene and rehearsal was a four-way partnership between me, Stanley, director Diane Paulus, and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Developing the scene began when Larbi gave the material to me and Stanley to explore and quote, do what we had to do to connect with it. While the number seems very organic in performance, there isn't any improvisation in the choreography for "Uninvited." While choreographer Larbi was very specific with his intentions, I wasn't expected to replicate what he was doing exactly.

Alternately, I was encouraged to execute choreography in whatever way my body moved me to do so, asking deeper questions behind the movement, such as what is the intention, how are they threading together, and what is the precise amount of energy needed to execute something that is very emotional yet very specific. While I was given the ability to play, I felt compelled to get as close to what Larbi was doing as possible in the rehearsal room. I said there was an amazing amount of trust within his body, and I tried to emulate that essence inside performing "Uninvited." My performance in Jagged Little Pill allows me to use dance in a profound way, as a closer look into the mind of someone battling addiction and the ways it can become all-consuming.

Dance has this ability to create such complicated, messy, blurry, nuanced, and multi-layered fucked-upness, which is more close to what addiction is really like, I say. The body can explain things that words cannot. That's what's so powerful about dance.

[12:31] Jackson Klein: Special thanks to Antonio Cipriano, Logan Hart, and Heather Lange for allowing us to share their stories this week. The Ensemblist was produced today by Mo Brady and me, Jackson Klein. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. The second is by becoming a Patreon member at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, whether that's on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Stay safe, and thank you for listening. Until next time!