Two-time Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe Award winner Bruce Willis will makes his Broadway debut opposite three-time Emmy Award winner and two-time Tony Award nominee Laurie Metcalf in MISERY.
MISERY, written by two-time Academy Award-winner William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) who wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award-winning film and based on the acclaimed novel by Stephen King, is directed by Will Frears (Omnium Gatherum).
Successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon (Bruce Willis) is rescued from a car crash by his "Number One Fan," Annie Wilkes (Laurie Metcalf), and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads the manuscript to his newest novel and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new "Misery" novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The irate Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it, and if he does not make her deadline, it will.
That the play, borrowing heavily on the movie, is neatly plotted does not mean it is structurally satisfying. Basically it has only two actions, which keep alternating: Sheldon develops a plan, and Annie foils it. The movie, with its variety of shots and its focus on details, could disguise that endless tick-tock, but onstage the drama flattens out and separates.
When Misery cooks, it is in the Grand Guignol moments, particularly the scene of hobbling, so why not go ahead and make that Guignol so much grander, sillier, more deliciously absurd? Had the violence been increased, as well as the comedy and the sense of sexual sublimation, Misery might have been a real scream.
2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design (Play or Musical) | David Korins |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Laurie Metcalf |
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