See it if you want to see Laurie Metcalf be a genius. And if you want to see a spectacular set.
Don't see it if you don't want to see Bruce Willis be terrible.
See it if You are a fan of the movie or book, and if you want to see Laurie Metcalf very good performance.
Don't see it if Intense themes bother you,
See it if you want to see a great actress, Laurie Metcalf, redefine a classic role. The experience is actually fun, a thriller that borders on camp.
Don't see it if you are expecting an updated version of the movie. The play can feel creaky but it's still fun to wait for the moments you know are coming.
See it if Great performance by Metcalf. Good story. It is campier than it is suspenseful, but it works in that way. Enjoyable.
Don't see it if you expect thrill and angst of the movie or the book.
See it if You're looking for a fun night out. This is an entertaining show with an excellent performance by Laurie Metcalf.
Don't see it if You are looking to be scared. While there are a couple of tense moments, this show plays more for the laughs than the scares.
See it if You're a huge fan of Ste King, Laurie Metcalf (terrific) or Bruce Willis(understated, believable, charming). And you haven't seen the film.
Don't see it if You loved the movie. This added nothing to it.
See it if you are a Bruce Willis and/or Laurie Metcalf fan.
Don't see it if you are looking for an "edge of your seat" experience. It was very one note, lacking tension.
See it if If you like Laura Metcalf, a good stage actor. If you liked the movie story line.
Don't see it if Bad directing, slow, Willis not effective at all. If you like a good movie in which the play resembled nothing like it.
"Willis delivers an underpowered, half-interested performance…Despite Willis' flat performance, 'Misery' turns out to be something Broadway hasn't seen in years: an old-fashioned chiller from the Ira Levin/'Deathtrap' school, where the gasps and the giggles are deliciously jumbled together…Then there is the magnificent Metcalf, who gives us an Annie Wilkes more recognizably human than Bates, but no less enjoyably monstrous."
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"In the end, 'Misery' isn't total misery. It's just weird...Nowhere this season on Broadway is there an acting gulf as wide between two leads than here...Metcalf plays a towering psychotic — girlish one minute and inhuman the next. She's so good that she starts making sense...It's hard to act when you're immobile but Willis doesn't try, merely groaning a lot…Everyone is doing their best here except one guy, the one drawing the high ticket prices."
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"The work is truly terrifying at moments but fails to keep the intensity throughout...Metcalf is wonderful...Willis, unfortunately, does not fare as well...Will Frears’s direction works well overall, as does the stage adaptation by William Goldman...Filled with stomach-churning moments, with a few hiccups here and there, 'Misery' is a roller coaster of a thrill ride, where only the most determined survive."
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"Recreating iconic scenes from a movie in semi-darkness, inserting cheesy horror music and creaky sound effects, is not innovative direction; it is lazy and unimaginative and borders on tedium...Willis is one-dimensional on the stage. We also know that no one can do crazy better than Laurie Metcalf, but from the onset here she just comes off as demented, and there is no shading to her character...The absent direction by Will Frears does not help either actor."
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"Metcalf’s performance is finely drawn, well-observed, brilliantly executed and entirely captivating...Bruce Willis as Paul Sheldon is sexy. He is magnetic, probably for all the wrong reasons...Will Frears’ direction is razor sharp. I felt the horror and painful sadness of the piece in his cleverly crafted moments. I feel that William Goldman’s version has brought a necessary humor to the story and allows us to warm up to the characters before the hell ride begins."
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"Writing is rarely easy. But it's hard to imagine a more nightmarish creative process than that depicted in Stephen King's psycho-thriller Misery...Despite Metcalf's excellently maniacal Annie, the tension here is more discomfort than terror. Emotional cruelty works onstage, but full-throttle fights less so, and it's hard to see why this tale, aside from its star-vehicle potential, demanded to be staged."
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"Metcalf, as always, is brilliant...Willis, on the other hand, is strangely one-dimensional..As a result, Paul doesn't seem very afraid of Annie and even appears to be OK with her mistreatment. We don't get a sense of the author trying to mask his terror, agony or despair. If we did, it would be harder to join in the laughter, I suppose. I enjoyed it, but expecting more...Lighting design, sound design, and original music don't create the suspenseful, on-the-edge-of-your-seat feel that should be there."
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"Neither William Goldman’s script nor Will Frears’ production will disappoint people who are looking to revisit their favorite moments in the story...For some theatergoers, the recreation of on stage of the familiar narrative will be enough. For those audiences members who are looking for a little more, there are two wonderful surprises...The production settles for the middle-of-the-road, giving audiences exactly what they might expect."
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