| Misery | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the 1992 play | |
| Book | Simon Moore |
| Basis | Misery by Stephen King |
| Premiere | December 17, 1992: West End Theatre [1] |
| Productions |
|
| Awards | 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play – Nominated |
Misery is a play written by Simon Moore. It is based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Stephen King, which was adapted into a 1990 film, the script for which was written by William Goldman, who wrote some of the productions.
| Character | West End Theatre (1992–93) | West End Theatre (2005) | King's Head Theatre (2005) | Bucks County Playhouse (2012) | Broadhurst Theatre (2015–16) | Kwadrat Theatre (2017) | Kuopio City Theatre (2019) | Tampere Theatre (2019) | Pori Theatre (2022) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Wilkes | Sharon Gless | Lisa Morgan | Susan Penhaligon | Johanna Day | Laurie Metcalf | Ewa Wencel | Henna Haverinen | Mari Turunen | Mirva Tolppanen |
| Paul Sheldon | Bill Paterson | Stephen G. Anthony | Michael Praed | Daniel Gerroll | Bruce Willis | Piotr Polk | Seppo Pääkkönen | Esa Latva-Äijö | Vesa Haltsonen |
| Sheriff Buster | — | — | — | James DeMarse | Leon Addison Brown | Marcin Pietowski | Ari-Kyösti Seppo | Jukka Leisti | Hannu Müller |
Except for Simon Moore's productions, all six versions of the play were written by William Goldman (who also wrote the 1990 film's screenplay), while Will Frears directed the U.S. versions and Robert Gliński directed the 2017 Polish adaptation. [2] [3] [4]
In 1992, Simon Moore directed and wrote a play based on the novel of the same name, which premiered in London's West End Theatre on December 17, 1992, running for six months, before it was revived in 2005. [5] The 1992 production starred Sharon Gless as Annie Wilkes and Bill Paterson as Paul Sheldon, [1] while the 2005 production starred Lisa Morgan as Wilkes and Stephen G. Anthony as Sheldon. [5]
In 2005, Moore's script was used in a production directed by Alan Cohen, which premiered at King's Head Theatre. [6] The play starred Susan Penhaligon as Wilkes and Michael Praed as Sheldon. [6] [7]
The play, in association with Castle Rock Entertainment, [8] made its U.S. premiere at the Bucks County Playhouse on November 24, 2012, for 11 performances, and closed on December 8, 2012. [9] The play starred Daniel Gerroll as Sheldon, Johanna Day as Wilkes, and James DeMarse as Sheriff Buster. [10]
A new version of the production officially opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 22, 2015 and closed on February 16, 2016. [11] This version starred Bruce Willis as Sheldon, Laurie Metcalf as Wilkes, and Leon Addison Brown as Buster. [12] The show ran for 102 performances, grossing $12,518,415 in ticket sales. [13] [14] [15]
The play was re-adapted in the Polish language, starring Ewa Wencel as Wilkes, Piotr Polk as Sheldon, and Marcin Pietowski as Buster, and premiered at the Kwadrat Theatre in Warsaw on January 9, 2017. [4]
Misery was adapted under the name Piina for three Finnish productions. [16] [17] [18] The first adaptation was performed in September 2019 by Kuopio City Theatre in Kuopio. [19] [20] It starred Seppo Pääkkönen as Sheldon, Henna Haverinen as Wilkes, and Ari-Kyösti Seppo as Buster, and was directed by Olli-Matti Oinonen. [17]
The second adaptation was performed in October 2019 by Tampere Theatre in Tampere. [21] [22] The play starred Mari Turunen as Wilkes, Esa Latva-Äijö as Sheldon, and Jukka Leisti as Buster, and was directed by Antti Mikkola. [16]
A third adaptation was performed in November 2022 by Pori Theatre in Pori. [23] It starred Vesa Haltsonen as Sheldon, Mirva Tolppanen as Wilkes, and Hannu Müller as Buster, and was directed by Tuomo Aitta . [18]
For Metcalf's performance as Wilkes, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, [24] at the 70th Tony Awards in 2016. [25] Willis' performance as Sheldon was generally panned by critics, who called it "vacant" and "inert". [26] [27] [28] Some new sources have criticized Willis for using an ear piece on the play. [29]
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