You Learn! Jagged Little Pill Star Elizabeth Stanley on Coming into Her Own as a Broadway Leading Lady

Elizabeth Stanley has showcased her talents on Broadway with featured roles in Company, Cry-Baby, Million Dollar Quartet and On the Town. Now, the performer is front and center, playing Mary Jane Healy in Jagged Little Pill. Named after the album of the same name, the new musical features the songs of Alanis Morissette—though, this isn’t a bio-musical, instead Jagged Little Pill tells the original story of the seemingly picture-perfect Healy family as they struggle to keep up appearances. Stanley sat down with Paul Wontorek on Show People to talk about her going from small town girl to New York stage star, meeting Morissette and more.

“My dad worked for the Rural Electric Corporation," Stanley said about growing up in Camp Point, Illinois. "[We lived] three hours from St. Louis. No one was auditioning for Broadway. No one was becoming a YouTube star. My high school didn’t have a [theater] program because it was so small. I tried to be involved in the things my school did have. I’m grateful for it because I think that’s why I am a creative person: I was always making things."

Stanley started taking piano lessons at age six and learning other instruments once she reached junior high. This served her well when she made her Broadway debut in the John Doyle-helmed revival of Company in 2006, in whiche the performers also served as the show’s orchestra. Stanley played the oboe, tuba and alto sax in the production. “I don’t think [my Broadway debut] would have happened if I hadn’t played instruments,” she said. “I think I was wonderfully naive in that I remember booking the job in Cincinnati, and people being like, ‘That’s going to be a Broadway show.’ I was like, ‘What? I don’t think so.’”

Though she adored theater growing up (noteworthy childhood stage turns included Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web and the title roles in The Velveteen Rabbit and Cinderella), Stanley originally had her sights set on opera. “That’s what I initially went to school to do," she said. "I went to Indiana University as a voice major. I loved the black and white of classical music. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it—great! I like boundaries. I felt good about it. But then when I got [to college], I became friends with the people who did musicals. They were like, ‘Come to the dark side. Try belting!’”

Stanley does indeed belt in Jagged Little Pill. The cast has been tasked with adding their own flair to Morissette’s sound. Luckily, the seven-time Grammy winner has been supportive of the project and its players: “[Morissette] is an angel. She is what you want her to be,” Stanley said. “The first time we met, she came to a run-through in the rehearsal studio before we went to Cambridge [where the show premiered at the American Repertory Theater in 2018] . She snuck in in her big comfy sweater, no makeup, and she gave every single person a hug. I think she’s really thrilled to see this music deepen.”

Stanley has led the national tours of Xanadu and The Bridges of Madison County, but playing the leading lady in Jagged Little Pill feels as if it arrived at the right time. “It definitely is the kind of role that I’ve been dreaming of doing. I’m glad that it didn’t happen before in many ways. It’s nice to be a little older; I feel really grounded and sane about all of it,” she said. “Cry-Baby, for example, in many ways was very heartbreaking. There was so much potential there. It was right at the time that the Internet was really starting to be an influencer, and the haters were out. I remember our producers calling us to the stage during previews, and saying, ‘Don’t worry. The show’s not closing. We know that there is a rumor that it’s closing.’ We hadn’t even opened yet. I’m grateful for having that wisdom.”

Stanley feels proud to share her wisdom with her company—and is happy to gain wisdom in return. “I feel that sense of responsibility for being a good leader of the cast,” she said. “I love working with people who are younger than me because I learn a lot from them. It’s nice to stay in touch with other adults—who just happen to be younger than you. You can see the individual talent in every person on that stage. I’m wowed by all of them.”

So, what does it all come down to for Stanley? “As an actor, it’s really easy to ‘compare and despair,’ as they say. It’s not worth it! What’s for you is not going to pass you by.”

Watch the full episode of Show People with Paul Wontorek below!

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