SUNSET PLAYHOUSE WILL KEEP YOU AT THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THIS HALLOWEEN WITH AN ADAPTATION OF STEPHEN KING’S “MISERY”
Elm Grove - Stephen King’s Misery, the 1987, book may have kept you up nights, the 1990 film version with Academy Award-winner Kathy Bates may have had you squirming in your seat, but the live adaptation by Simon Moore may just be enough to make you run out of the theater screaming in horror. Or you may just be riveted to the edge of your seat as Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove presents the area premiere of the play Misery, from October 19 through November 10 in the Furlan Auditorium.
“It’s no coincidence that this show falls during our Halloween slot,” says Artistic Director Mark Salentine, who will also star in one of only two roles in the play. Along with co-directing the play with Jeremiah Shaw, Salentine will play popular romance novelist Paul Sheldon. The set up is that Paul regains consciousness after a car accident, immobile in a dilapidated farmhouse. Annie, the schizophrenic occupant, is his number one fan and insists she will nurse him. Thus begins Paul's descent into a living nightmare.
Tami Rentmeester, a professional actress based locally, will play opposite Salentine as Nurse Annie Wilkes. “While this show is the smallest in cast size this season,” says Salentine, “it may very well be the largest in demands upon set design, lighting requirements, and prop needs--as well as the demands placed upon the actors.” There are violent and even bloody moments, but Salentine is quick to point out that these events aren’t gratuitous. He says that some audience members will even appreciate the dark humor tucked between the dark horror.
Resident Scenic Designer J. Michael Desper has produced elaborate and nearly magical transforming sets in the past, such as for To Kill a Mockingbird, Kiss Me Kate, and even Harvey. Misery will rely upon his creativity to not only focus on the bedroom where Paul is held captive, but to show in different scenes other areas of the house where Annie lives, including the exterior from winter to spring.
Daniel Weiermann, the professional lighting designer whose work was last displayed in Sunset’s sold-out Footloose, will set the horrific tone of Misery in light and shadows. Brenda Gravelle gets to supply the props, such as the script-required “massive rusty axe,” for what Salentine calls his “adult haunted house on stage.” Even the sound, engineered by Jan Pritzl, will be so complex as to try and involve the audience as experiencing what the writer goes through. Clearly, this is a show with mature content and violence. Leave the kids and the faint-hearted at home.
Misery runs October 19th through November 10th. Tickets for Misery are $18.00. Group rates for 15 or more people are available.
For more information or to order tickets by telephone, call the Box Office at (262) 782-4430. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. and Saturdays 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
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