Two Charlotteans return home with Broadway’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’

CHARLOTTE — Broadway fans oughta know that the latest musical coming to the Queen City features two native Charlotteans.

“Jagged Little Pill,” a show inspired by the rock album of the same name by seven-time Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette, opened Tuesday at Belk Theater in Uptown.

Former Hickory Ridge High School student Maya J. Christian will perform as part of the ensemble cast and a swing, an offstage performer responsible for learning a number of tracks so they’re able to step in at a moment’s notice if anyone in the cast calls out. Northwest School of the Arts graduate Ashani Smith is the assistant stage manager.

Both women competed in the Blumenthal High School Musical Theater Awards — Christian as a performer and Smith as a student critic.

“Growing up here in Charlotte, I would see so many shows at Blumenthal, some of which I still have the show posters for,” Smith said in a news release. “Now being able to bring my second Broadway national tour to the very place where I took dance classes, master classes, watched my friends win awards and learned how to be an artist is so surreal and full circle.”

Christian added: “I would see shows at the Belk Theater, and that’s part of the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing. The Charlotte art scene is important to me. We’re not only excited to go home but to show the cast the love we have for Charlotte.”

“Jagged Little Pill” runs through Sunday. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.

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