Most modern discourse would suggest that Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z are far too entrenched in their own tastes and technologies to find any cultural common ground. But then there are figures like Alanis Morissette, the Canadian singer-songwriter who debuted her first residency in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, and whose third and most widely known album, 1995’s Jagged Little Pill, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and spawned a Broadway musical. Baby Boomers and Gen X were surprised and beguiled by Morissette’s candor on JLP. Millennials grew up on lyrics like “’Cause I’ve got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is flickin’ a cigarette.” And when Morissette performed at Glastonbury this year, clips from her set—which included songs like “Ironic” and “Uninvited”—went viral on TikTok.
“I am chuffed that a whole new generation is listening to these songs,” says Morissette, speaking from Las Vegas a few hours before curtain. To her mind, the music and her show are “like a love letter to highly sensitive people and artists, and those of us who have been traumatized for it.”
Morissette’s self-titled residency—which opened to a sold-out crowd at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace—plays as a kind of dramatized autobiography, weaving in spoken elements and some comedy. It also involves myriad set-ups, including a Brady Bunch-esque paneled backscreen in one scene, rainbow spotlighting in another, and Morissette singing from a bed. Outside the theater, a boutique features some of her favorite things, including lots of skin-care essentials.
“I had been very clear about not wanting to write a memoir,” Morissette says. “But I had two years worth of stories written, sitting on my computer. So when it came time to come up with this show, we went through all of them and brought them to life with movement, color, aesthetics, sound, and multiple disciplines.” She calls the result “a dream come true,” adding, “There was a profound humility and passion and competence that was present throughout all the prep and writing and rehearsing.”
Another standout in the production: Dries Van Noten, now under the creative direction of Julian Klausner, has provided Morissette’s entire wardrobe. “I have loved Dries Van Noten since the ’90s. The brand has always been my dream blend of rich sensuality, subtlety, and nuance. Its tones are all royal and crushed and often ‘wild,’” Morissette says. “[In the wardrobe], there is a chic rock flash shimmering, literally, under the surface.”
Morissette has often spoken up about the wounding nature of fame, and the tools she’s turned to—therapy, meditation—to survive it. “The vulnerability for artists really lies around the fact that most of us are highly sensitive and often introverted,” she says. “The lifestyle that comes along with being an artist often runs at direct odds to our temperament. Navigating how to stay semi-grounded and regulated throughout a lifestyle that is set up to obliterate us…that is the warrior work.”
While the show in Vegas addresses some darker themes from her past, including experiences with addiction, postpartum depression, and sexual assault, the overall effect is buoyant. In a clever, knowing bit of theater, she wears a feathered showgirl headdress and breaks into a kickline with her fellow performers while singing “Ironic”—a moment received with delighted cheers. Leaning in and listening to one of the most creative musical artists of our time: that’s something anyone can get into.