THE LEGEND: MADONNAor the past few years, while her son attended an
elite soccer academy in Lisbon, Portugal, Madonna
has called nearby Sintra home. Hearing the lively
rhythms and mournful serenades of impromptu living-
room sessions in the hilltop village transported the
61-year-old Queen of Pop to a pre-gentrified New York
City, where she traipsed about the Lower East Side in
lace and mesh with the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat
and Debi Mazar. The traditional sounds of her adopted
home also inspired the Latin-inflected songs on her four-
teenth studio album, Madame X, which she’ll perform in
multi-night residencies in theaters throughout the U.S.
and Europe (starting September 12 at Brooklyn’s BAM
Howard Gilman Opera House).—MELISSA GIANNINIF
Jagged Little Pill (DECEMBER 5)
For many, Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill
is a classic recording (dare to disagree publicly and face
the wrath of Gen X Twitter), and as such, it’s one that fans
have their own, closely guarded internal version of. Now it’s
being brought to life outside those dusty Discmans via a new
musical directed by Diane Paulus (Waitress). Rather than the
usual loose autobiography threaded together by songs, the
production’s book (by Diablo Cody) reimagines the music
in the context of a dysfunctional family. Reworkings of “You
Learn” and “Ironic” join two new Morissette tunes, “Smiling”
and “Predator.” “We added color, complexity, great themes,”
Morissette says of the score. “It wasn’t just crass finger painting
all over [the original].” The singer-songwriter adds that her
transition to the theater world has been smooth, except for one
thing: “I’m still clueless about the terminology. I’m like, ‘What’s
that thing where you all get together and practice?’ They’re
like, ‘Yeah, it’s called a rehearsal.’ ”—VÉRONIQUE HYLANDMUSICTHEATERTina (NOVEMBER 7)
When Adrienne Warren
pinned a photo of Tina Turner
on her vision board—with
a note reading, “I want to
be the next Tina Turner,” no
less—she had no idea that
she’d end up doing just that.
The 32-year-old actress is
playing the titular role in
Tina, coming to Broadway
this fall (its West End run was
also extended). The show
requires Warren to age from
17 to 40 (“Everything about
Tina evolves over time,” she
notes, “her body, the way she
moves, her speaking voice,
her singing voice, her hair!”)
and to hit some intimidatingly
high notes. Warren studied
footage of Turner’s
performances and worked
with a vocal coach for months
to get it right. But her training
wasn’t just musical: She also
started boxing at New York’s
Aerospace gym in order to
build the stamina needed to
make it from “Proud Mary” to
“Private Dancer” every night.Fall Preview
PICTURED ABOVE, FROM LEFT: CODY, MORISSETTE, AND PAULUS. THIS PAGE: MADONNA: STEVEN KLEIN;JAGGED LITTLE PILL: MATTHEW MURPHY;TINA: MANUEL HARLAN. OPPOSITE PAGE: LARSSON: SASHA SAMSONVA;JUDY: COURTESY OF LD ENTERTAINMENT AND ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS;HARRIET: GLEN WILSON/FOCUS FEATURES;A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: LACEY TERRELL.