Contents

Misery (play)

Misery
Promotional poster for the 1992 play
Book	Simon Moore
Basis	Misery byStephen King
Premiere	December 17, 1992: West End Theatre[1]
Productions	1992–93 West End Theatre 2005 West End Theatre 2005 King's Head Theatre 2012 Bucks County Playhouse 2015–16 Broadhurst Theatre 2017 Kwadrat Theatre 2019 Kuopio City Theatre 2019 Tampere Theatre 2022 Pori Theatre
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 namebyStephen King, which was adapted into a 1990 film, the script for which was written by William Goldman, who wrote some of the productions.

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 GlessasAnnie 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 TheatreinWarsaw 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 TheatreinTampere.^[21][22] The play starred Mari Turunen as Wilkes, Esa Latva-Äijö [fi] as Sheldon, and Jukka Leisti as Buster, and was directed by Antti Mikkola.^[16]

A third adaptation was performed in November 2022 by Pori TheatreinPori.^[23] It starred Vesa Haltsonen as Sheldon, Mirva Tolppanen as Wilkes, and Hannu Müller as Buster, and was directed by Tuomo Aitta [fi].^[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's performance as Sheldon was generally panned by critics, who called it "vacant" and "inert".^[26][27][28] One critic faulted Willis for using an ear piece on the play.^[29]

• ​Misery​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• Official website