Misery
One hour and 30 minutes, with no intermission
Misery - 2015 Broadway History , Info & More
Broadhurst Theatre (Broadway)
235 W. 44th St. New York, NY
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.
Misery - 2015 - Broadway Cast
PREVIEW Misery - 2015 - Broadway
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FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Misery
Misery: EW stage review
7 / 10
However, though the technical specs are excellent, the production suffers from a curious lack of tension. And, moreover, fun. The movie version had the benefit of close-ups, which Reiner took advantage of to the hilt, but in the play we feel too distanced from the intimacy and battle of wills that develops between Paul and Annie - or the notes of sympathy that is woven into each of them. Willis plays Paul with a flatness and passivity that feels too inert, even for a character who is bedbound. And as Annie, Laurie Metcalf is overly conscious of not echoing the line readings as they were delivered by Bates. During Annie's famous freak-out over Paul's decision to kill off his literary creation ('You murdered my Misery!'), Metcalf chooses the opposite tonal delivery for each of Bates' lines. And unlike in the book and the film, there's no grace period in which we discover that Annie is nuts. That's a symptom of making a play from material that is extremely well known, but it renders a great-looking production somewhat - to use a word - hobbled. B-
Bruce Willis gamely endures 'Misery' in Broadway debut
7 / 10
You can't help but feel for Bruce Willis, now making his Broadway debut in Misery (**1/2 out of four stars), a new adaptation of the Stephen King novel. ... But Misery isn't really Paul's play, any more than the 1990 screen version -- penned by William Goldman, who also wrote this play -- was his movie. You may remember that James Caan played Paul in that film, but he was vastly overshadowed by Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes, the obsessive fan who retrieves the injured writer from the site of the crash. Annie brings Paul to her farmhouse -- conveniently close to the hotel in Silver Creek, Colorado where he has just finished his latest work -- and holds him captive, through a combination of psychological torture and physical violence.
Misery History
Other Productions of Misery
| 2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Misery - 2015 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| 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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