Actor finds a perfect fit in ‘Jagged Little Pill’ tour at Van Wezel

Dillon Klena stepped into some pretty big shoes, literally, that turned out to be a perfect fit when he was cast to play Nick in the national tour of Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill.”

When the costume team was working with him, they needed him to wear a pair of Veja brand sneakers that factor into his character and the story. And it turns out that the best-fitting pair had previously been worn by his older brother, Derek Klena, who originated the role of Nick in the show’s world premiere at American Repertory Theatre in Boston in 2018 and later on Broadway.

While Derek Klena recently returned to the role of Christian in Broadway’s “Moulin Rouge,” Dillon Klena is touring the country as Nick Healey, whose family looks perfect on the outside (and in his mother’s annual Christmas letters). But over the course of the show, audiences realize the family is dealing with a variety of problems perfectly captured in Morissette’s songs.

He feels honored to be taking on a role that his brother created.

“We are so supportive of each other. We performed together as kids and we always had this really special bond and connection through the arts,” Dillon Klena said in a telephone interview from a recent tour stop in Fort Myers. “Watching him do this role and him being one of my main inspirations, made going through the whole long audition process pretty exciting, and I’m happy that I’m a part of this.”

Dillon has been performing on the tour for more than a year, but was rarely more anxious than when his brother finally got to see the tour during a stop in Minneapolis a few months ago.

“It was so nerve wracking. This is such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and to take something that was done by someone so close to you, had me on edge. But it turned out great,” he said.

The musical was crafted around songs that Morrissette wrote with Glen Ballard for her 1995 album “Jagged Little Pill”, as well as songs from follow-up recordings. Writer Diablo Cody (an Oscar-winner for writing the film “Juno”) created a story that critics have said elevate it from the standard jukebox musical.

It tackles a variety of contemporary issues from rape culture and racism to addiction, adoption and homophobia. The New York times wrote that the show is “clear in its priorities, rich in character, sincere without syrup, rousing and real. It easily clears the low bar of jukebox success to stand alongside the dark original musicals that have been sustaining the best hopes of Broadway in recent years.”

Dillon Klena said he had to learn how to deal with the intensity of the story and what his character goes through.

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“At the beginning of the tour, I was putting so much emotion and thought behind everything that I was doing. It got draining at a certain point. Learning as a performer to take material that’s dark and deep and test my limits and connect fully to the part without giving all of myself to the character has definitely been a challenge. But I have been growing as a performer and actor throughout this experience.”

Though he was born three years after the album of “Jagged Little Pill” was released, Klena remembers “driving around hearing ‘Ironic,’ ‘Hand in My Pocket,’ ‘You Oughta Know.’ And when my brother did the show, those songs re-entered my life in a new way. I’ve always been a fan of her music and every time I hear her song or see her in an interview, I’m drawn to her as a human being. She is so inspiring.”

‘Jagged Little Pill’

Music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, book by Diablo Cody. Directed by Diane Paulus. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $80-$120 941-263-6799; vanwezel.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Family faces tensions in Morissette’s touring ‘Jagged Little Pill’