What happened to Stephen King's "Misery" from 30 years ago with Sharon Gless ?

[David10086]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 12:42pm

30 years ago, actress Sharon Gless starred in the West End stage drama  "Misery", based very closely on the Stephen King thriller.  The production won great reviews, as did Gless for her performance. There was talk that she and the production would be transferring to Broadway for the 1993-94 season (she told the LA Times this was in the works back in December, 1992) , once the show closed in London in the Spring of 1993.  Does anyone know why it never did ?  I would have loved to see Gless on stage in anything. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 1:24pm

Would that be the same version that later starred Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf? If so, it eventually did play Broadway and is now a very popular regional and community theatre offering, especially at Halloween.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 1:31pm

darquegk said: "Would that be the same version that later starred Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf? If so, it eventually did play Broadway and is now a very popular regional and community theatre offering, especially at Halloween."

Completely different production in every way.  The 2015 Broadway production originated at Bucks County Playhouse.  The 1992 London production was its own thing.  

[David10086]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 4:12pm

I recently read in one interview with Gless from 1993 she was very excited to be transferring to Broadway once the show ended in London. I know she said the theater they were in on the West End was rather small, which made it ideal for a 2 person play.  Maybe they couldn't find a theater small enough available on Broadway at the time ? 

 

 (I took an interest in this because I just finished her memoir, 'Apparently There Were Complaints...'. Gless  talks about doing the play, and the proposal to do B'way but then gets sidetracked on other things which were going on in her personal life at the time, and never gives a definitive answer as to what happened to the Broadway transfer). 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 4:14pm

Loved it

[David10086]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 4:35pm

You saw it in London ?  Tell us more !!!! 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 4:47pm

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 5:14pm

Yeah I'd be curious to hear about the staging. I didn't mind it on Broadway but it also felt very "Broadway" and didn't seem as "scary" as the movie.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 6:00pm

 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 9:05pm

There have been three different stage versions of the book over the years. The one that played on Broadway a few years ago was by William Goldman, and it is very close to the screenplay he wrote for the film, I think. Although it is now the version most theaters do, I think the general consensus is that Goldman’s version was still too cinematic in format and didn’t translate well to the stage (this my opinion at least, having read the script to Goldman’s play and seen the movie). The  two previous stage versions are supposedly much better, but of course people just want to see the movie onstage so I think they are rarely produced now and Goldman’s version is what is usually done now.

[David10086]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 9:24pm

When Gless was interviewed in 1993, she told everyone that she gained 10 pounds to play the role of Annie. She knew she gained noticeable weight so she addressed it quickly.  Truth is she gained more than 40 pounds that past year as she was going through menopause- she explained this in her book. She was depressed hitting 50 and had a diet of junk food, alcohol and cigarettes. The fact that the character was middle aged, depressed and overweight was just a blessing for her. She ended up dying her hair brown for the role so people wouldn’t think of her as her TV character Christine Cagney who was overweight. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 7:46am

I thoroughly enjoyed the William Goldman adaptation that played Broadway back in 2015, but the show definitely was not scary or suspenseful... I just loved Metcalfe and the set was pretty damn impressive.