In Misery, Paul Sheldon is a successful romance novelist who suffers extensive injuries in a car accident. In what first looks like divine providence, he is rescued by a woman who is not only a nurse, but someone who declares herself his biggest fan.
As anyone knows who has read the Stephen King book or the movie adaptation by William Goldman, things take a distinct turn south when Annie Wilkes discovers that Sheldon plans to discard her favorite character in his books.
Opening this week at Alley Theatre is the stage play version of this horror story – also adapted by Golding. And directing is Brandon Weinbrenner in his farewell performance as the Alley’s Associate Artistic Director. In July he becomes the Artistic Director of Everyman Theatre in Baltimore.
While he has directed any number of plays, Weinbrenner has been known especially for his deft touch directing comedies (Noises Off, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Venus in Fur) Still, he says, it should surprise no one that he’s directing this production.
“There are a lot of comedic elements to Misery,” he points out, adding that it was the late Rob Reiner – known for directing a number of comedies (When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride) who directed the 1990 movie version of the psychological thriller – which won Kathy Bates several awards including the Oscar for Best Actress.
“I think the connective tissue between comedy and misery and what attracts me to both is the meticulous amount of timing and truth associated with both. We laugh at comedy because we recognize it in our own lives. It hits a really true funny bone in us. To get the jump scare, to get the creep factor is all about timing and it’s also about the truth of what we are scared of, of what we do and don’t know. That’s what makes things scary,” Weinbrenner says.
The first thing Weinbrenner says he did once he knew he was directing Misery was to re-watch the movie several times, with special attention to its pacing and flow. He also read the novel which was the first time he’d read any Stephen King novel.
“it is an absolutely fascinating psychological examination of both Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes,” he says. There are differences between King’s book and the movie and play, most dramatically in what happens to Paul Sheldon. In the book, Annie amputates on of his feet. In the movie and play, it doesn’t go that far. Instead Paul is hobbled.
As Goldman described it, they didn’t need to go that far, Weinbrenner says. They already got the shock factor from breaking the ankles and they would lose audience if they went as far as amputating the whole foot, Weinbrenner explains.
Alley Resident Company members Chris Hutchison and Elizabeth Bunch, a married couple in real life, play the two main characters in this production. Company member Christopher Salazar takes on the role of Buster, the sheriff, who is drawn into this when he investigates the disappearance of Paul. As Weinbrenner describes the character: “The sheriff is a do-gooder. He doesn’t know what he is stepping in. All he is trying to do is do his job.”
It helps that Hutchison and Bunch know each other so well and take care of each other, particularly in the great fight scene at the end of the play, Weinbrenner says. But when the play starts, they have to remember that their characters are strangers to each other, he says.
Weinbrenner describes the 105-minute, one-act as” like a pot boiling. At the top of the show, Annie is a hero as far as Paul Sheldon knows. This play really is from Paul’s perspective, watching all this happens to him. It starts off feeling safe; feeling like somebody has saved your life only the to discover, this person is weird. Only then to discover this person is threatening. Not only is this person threatening, this person will kill me.
“Paul is extremely intelligent, extremely charismatic and extremely limited in this play. It’s a man who has super high status, who has a lot of power and all of a sudden he’s the lowest person on the ladder because he doesn’t have the ability to control his body. His legs are crushed. He’s a victim in a bed. He has no agency. It’s a really interesting and challenging role for Chris Hutchison to play.”
“[Annie] is a damaged character. She has such a unique perspective on life and somebody does not want to be told they’re wrong. When somebody questions her thinking, her intelligence, her intentions, that’s what sets her off. Clearly that comes from a place of what happened in her childhood; what happened in her previous relationships.”
“And she is fanatic about Paul Sheldon. He is God to her. The world that he has created in the Misery novels is escapism for the life that probably hasn’t gone the way that she intended. He has created a beautiful world for her to escape to. And when she discovers that he has crushed that world or changed that world, that’s really when she is set off.”
Performances are scheduled for May 29 through June 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 7 p.m. Sundays at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $41-$97.
