Misery
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Cititour.com Review
Misery marks the Broadway debut of movie action man Bruce Willis. But this adaptation of a classic Stephen King novel — which was turned into a 1990 film that won Kathy Bates an Oscar — is really a showcase for talented theater veteran Laurie Metcalf. Cast in the Bates role of lonely, obsessive and dangerously psychotic fan Annie Wilkes, she is the highlight of a thriller that’s not very suspenseful.
That's not because this well-worn story has an outcome most audience members will already know or can guess, even though it’s been adapted by the same Oscar-winning screenwriter, William Goldman (All the President’s Men), who wrote the Misery screenplay. What it demands isn’t an easy fit for the stage. Willis, as best-selling novelist Paul Sheldon, who crashes his car in the Colorado mountains during a brutal snowstorm, spends nearly all of the play in bed or a wheelchair. The Rob Reiner film could build tension with various camera angles and close-ups, but here director Will Frears doesn’t have that luxury. Although it’s only 90 minutes, his production often feels as immobile as Paul’s bruised and bandaged body. Not even Michael Friedman’s moody music can raise the tension. Sudden acts of violence were met with laughs from the audience rather than gasps.
(Somewhat) fortunately, Paul is rescued by Annie — who keeps reminding him that she’s his “No. 1 fan” (that’s why she was following him in the first place!). The play begins after she’s brought this man she worships like a god to her remote farmhouse. And when the real person doesn’t live up to her idolatry, Annie turns into his worst enemy, especially when she reads his latest historical novel and realizes he’s killed off beloved series character Misery Chastain. Annie shifts from healer to hostage holder quicker than you can light a match, an act that plays a vital role in the denouement.
King’s insights into the rabid nature of fandom seem ahead of their time. He was writing in the pre-Internet '80s, and the play is set at that time. Imagine the Tumblr page and fan fiction site Annie could have devoted to Paul in the digital age! On second thought, it’s probably best not to.
Metcalf, these days best known for playing Sheldon’s mother on The Big Bang Theory, masterfully conveys Annie’s frighteningly mercurial nature. Were Willis a more powerful stage presence, the play could coast on their chemistry. He’s great at writhing in pain, but he plays Paul in one low key, never fully depicting his fear of Annie, his passion for his work or making much of his attempts to charm his way to victory.
So the production plods along when it should whiz by as effortlessly as David Korins’s set, which revolves to reveal the different rooms of Annie’s quaint home. Misery actually feels most alive when characters are committing acts of violence. Although it’s not a great acting vehicle for Willis, it does at least share that trait with his films.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://www.miserybroadway.com
Cast
Bruce Willis, Laurie Metcalf, Leon Addison Brown
Open/Close Dates
Opening 11/15/2015
Closing 2/14/2016
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 10/22/2015
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Broadhurst Theatre
235 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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