Misery opened on the Playhouse stage October 11. It was promoted as part of the Palace Theatre’s spooky season of spine-tingling experiences. The horror themed play elicits a delicious dish of dire dread.
Screenwriter William Goldman adapted the 1987 book by "King of Horror" Stephen King into the 1990 Academy Award-winning film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. The stage adaptation ran at the Broadhurst Theater in 2015 starring Bruce Willis.
Romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan” Annie Wilkes. He wakes up in her secluded home and is pampered and idolized. Hints of Annie’s instability begin to show and Paul eventually realizes she has no intention of letting him leave.
Misery is the main character in Paul’s romance series. She has been killed off in his latest book. Annie is outraged and forces Paul to write her back in. “Misery is alive!” Annie proclaims when the character is resurrected. Paul, meanwhile, encounters increasing levels of misery under Annie’s care.
Director Emily Taylor is an avid horror film fan. Her attention to theatrical details creates an eeriness that builds to an edge of seat tension. Unsettling music adds to the unease and the cozy bedroom is in sharp contrast to Annie’s evil intentions.
The audience is privy to the beautiful but isolated location through the view out a window. Daylight changes to night skies and winter moves into spring. A thunderstorm with hard rain enhances the sense of hidden threats.
Kathy Bates’ performance as Annie Wilkes earned her the Oscar for Best Actress. In the Palace production the iconic role is perfectly portrayed by Suzanne Orzech. She unravels from well intentioned healer to crazed psychopath with convincing believability. Casual cruelty followed by dubious normalcy and uncomfortable playfulness advances a chilling trajectory toward unthinkable behavior.
Jacob Maspero portrays Paul, the famed novelist who is physically powerless as his worst fears are confirmed. Mr. Maspero develops the character and evokes audience sympathy for his degradation and frustration. His character's range of emotions also include arrogance, defiance, sarcasm, determination, fear and dread.
Valerie Frazee is well cast as the sheriff searching for Paul. Veronica Desantos Ryan and AJ Reyes are prepared understudies.
The Playhouse venue is well suited for suspense and close proximity to the stage creates intimacy. Fight Director Tobie Minor choreographs altercations while keeping the cast and audience safe. Physical confrontations between the characters are very realistic.
The definition of misery is “a feeling of great distress or discomfort of mind or body.” The book was inspired by Steven King’s own agonizing struggles with addiction to cocaine and alcohol.
There are laugh out loud moments throughout Misery. King refers to his writing as “the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries” and he isn’t above gallows humor. “People want to know why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy — and I keep it in a jar on my desk.”
The Playhouse production drags a bit in the second half but rekindles to deliver an edgy entanglement of victim and villain that is captivating and chilling. “Misery is alive!” on the Playhouse stage through November 10. Go to georgetownpalace.com for tickets and details.