MISERY is a classic in every single incarnation. The Stephen King novel has become a cultural touchstone and the Rob Reiner film adaptation earned Kathy Bates an Oscar for Best Actress.
Now the property is moving to Broadway and hopefully new notoriety with SCREAM 2's Laurie Metcalf stepping into the role of deranged fan Annie Wilkes, opposite Bruce Freaking Willis as trapped writer Paul Sheldon. The show also features Leon Addison Brown (Wes Craven's MUSIC OF THE HEART) as a hapless policeman.
Says director Will Frears:
Laurie is a performing animal and Bruce is a machine through the middle, so you get this wonderful contrast where it becomes orchestral. They play their talents in different ways, delightfully, so that they’re both there in concert with each other. Laurie’s a genius and she’ll do things you’ve never considered possible. And there’s something just to have Bruce do Bruce, which I find thrilling to watch.
Now, that could mean anything, but he's got me imagining Paul Sheldon tossing grenades into elevator shafts and crawling through broken glass on his hobbled ankles. Speaking of hobbling, that scene is not absent from the play, but you'll have to see it to believe it. The show opens November 15th at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City, and tickets are available right here.
You'll be receiving a thoroughly bloody review here at Arrow in the Head very soon, but for the time being, enjoy these first look pictures at the show, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly!