Alanis Morisette on Her New Las Vegas Residency, Fame’s ‘Obliteration’ Factor, and Her Love of Dries Van Noten

Morissette’s self-titled residency—which opened to a sold-out crowd at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace—plays as a kind of dramatized autobiography, weaving in spoken elements and some comedy. It also involves myriad set-ups, including a Brady Bunch-esque paneled backscreen in one scene, rainbow spotlighting in another, and Morissette singing from a bed. Outside the theater, a boutique features some of her favorite things, including lots of skin-care essentials.

“I had been very clear about not wanting to write a memoir,” Morissette says. “But I had two years worth of stories written, sitting on my computer. So when it came time to come up with this show, we went through all of them and brought them to life with movement, color, aesthetics, sound, and multiple disciplines.” She calls the result “a dream come true,” adding, “There was a profound humility and passion and competence that was present throughout all the prep and writing and rehearsing.”

Another standout in the production: Dries Van Noten, now under the creative direction of Julian Klausner, has provided Morissette’s entire wardrobe. “I have loved Dries Van Noten since the ’90s. The brand has always been my dream blend of rich sensuality, subtlety, and nuance. Its tones are all royal and crushed and often ‘wild,’” Morissette says. “[In the wardrobe], there is a chic rock flash shimmering, literally, under the surface.”

Morissette has often spoken up about the wounding nature of fame, and the tools she’s turned to—therapy, meditation—to survive it. “The vulnerability for artists really lies around the fact that most of us are highly sensitive and often introverted,” she says. “The lifestyle that comes along with being an artist often runs at direct odds to our temperament. Navigating how to stay semi-grounded and regulated throughout a lifestyle that is set up to obliterate us… that is the warrior work.”