“THAT I WOULD BE GOOD”:

A MESSY
TRIANGLE

One of the most tender moments in Jagged Little Pill comes close to the end of the first act, when three of the youngest cast members come together in delicate three-part harmony to sing Morissette’s song “That I Would Be Good.” The song brings together Frankie and Phoenix, who have run off together after Lancer’s party, and Jo, who is unable to reach Frankie to process her own dramatic night—her mother made her attend church bingo, where the minister chastised her for being queer. All three teenagers are at an inflection point: Frankie is considering starting a new romance with Phoenix, Phoenix opens up about his own difficult family issues, and Jo feels completely alone (and cannot wait to take off the itchy pink cardigan her mother made her wear). They find release in singing “That I Would Be Good,” a song about sloughing off the expectations of others and finding the strength internally to just be enough. We spoke with Lauren Patten (Jo), Celia Rose Gooding (Frankie), and Antonio Cipriano (Phoenix) about the story behind the song.

“I’m a sucker for
a three-part harmony.”

-CELIA ROSE GOODING

Let’s talk about how you three have developed a relationship over time, maybe as actors and then the characters.

CELIA ROSE GOODING: I know that I met Antonio briefly before the first day of rehearsal. Since we were young, we’d have to go to tutoring every day, and I think that’s how a lot of our bonding started—sitting in the tiniest room on the planet and doing schoolwork, which we had no intention of actually doing, but it was a legal requirement.

ANTONIO CIPRIANO: Yeah, we kind of became best friends through that process, which was really cool.

GOODING: I was very ready to be the only young kid in the show, and then this dude shows up and saves me from that idea of being like the only baby. And a lot of what happens onstage I draw from this feeling of gratitude that I have for Antonio. And the same thing with Lauren. Our relationship started at the reading, and we’ve been really, really close, and a lot of the trust that Celia has for Lauren, Frankie also has for Jo.

LAUREN PATTEN: Luckily, Celia has not broken Lauren’s trust as Frankie has broken Jo’s. [Laughs]

“That I Would Be Good” actually started out as a solo for Frankie, right?

GOODING: Yeah! It was originally before “All I Really Want.” Frankie sang the whole thing by herself in bed—and then Jo arises from the bed that Frankie is singing this song in.

CIPRIANO: What? I did not know this!