The best thing about living in New York is the possibility of seeing Hollywood stars doing plays, which is something really common lately. I was already able to see Daniel Craig, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close, Keira Knightley, etc. This week I had the great opportunity to see Bruce Willis, someone I admire for many years, ever since the TV show Moonlighting, making his Broadway debut.
If you’ve already either seen the movie or read the book (by Stephen King), you know the plot to Misery: Paul Sheldon (Bruce Willis) is a famous writer who is involved in a car crash due to a snow storm in Colorado. He’s rescued by Annie Wilkes (Laurie Metcalf), his “number one fan”. Because of the accident, Paul is unable to leave the bed and Annie, who is a professional nurse, takes care of him while letting him know that she absolutely loves his novel series about a girl called Misery. Caring at first, Annie quickly shows her other side and doesn’t let Paul recover properly.
As I mentioned, the book was written by Stephen King, which means that it is a great thriller. I was wondering how they would act the story on a stage, but the director Will Frears and the set designer, David Korins, did a wonderful job recreating Annie’s house on rotating stage, so that the actors can move between rooms easily.
Bruce Willis is great as Paul Sheldon and he gives the character a comic side that can be unusual to find in these types of thriller. Laurie Metcalf shines as Annie, doing Kathy Bates justice and bringing the character to a whole new level of craziness. I already liked her from her recurring role on The Big Bang Theory, but here she really has the opportunity to take the spotlight.
I also enjoyed the score used, which helped fill the silence between scenes, as well as raised the tension when needed. The adaption from the movie was very good, even with a specific scene involving Paul’s feet (which I was curious to see how they would do that on a live stage).
It’s still in previews, so they can change things before the official opening on November 15th. It closes on February 14, 2016, and it’s on the Broadhurst Theatre. One final note, it’s a play and not a musical (I overheard two ladies talking before the play starts and they were expecting a musical, just because it’s on Broadway…). Also, I’ll leave you with some pictures of Bruce Willis I was able to take after the play (I couldn’t see Laurie leaving…)!
Official site: http://www.miserybroadway.com
Where: Broadhurst Theater
When: Preview: Oct 22, 2015
Opening: Nov 15, 2015
Closing: Feb 14, 2016
