Dramatic, disturbing and daunting with a teaspoon of sarcastic, snarky humor, Sean Brosnahan recreated William Goldman’s film version of Stephen King’s “Misery” on stage at Raleigh Little Theatre.
The story revolves around Paul Sheldon, a well-known novelist, who, after a near-fatal car accident, wakes up in the home of nurse Annie Wilkes. Sheldon recognizes that although Wilkes is treating his injuries, she doesn’t have his best interests at heart. She has a hidden agenda — she doesn’t want him to leave.
Wilkes’ intentions can be summarized by one recurring quote of hers that drove the plot of the production.
“I am your number one fan,” Wilkes said. “And trust me, there ain’t no number two.”
Sandi Sullivan, who portrayed Wilkes, talked about the complexity of the character and how she tackled the challenge of empathizing with her.
“I think the biggest challenge with Annie is making her believable and also sympathetic,” Sullivan said. “She’s mentally ill, and she has to be able to switch on a dime.”
Brosnahan, director of “Misery,” said one of their goals was to humanize the characters and make sure people could relate to them despite their darker side.
“Paul is not a great human being, but he wants to be better,” Brosnahan said. “He is the source of most of the humor, but you also get to see some of the sickness within him. And then the antithesis with Annie is, she’s got the capability to really care and love somebody, but not really the ability to control those emotions.”
The stage arrangement also mirrors the different aspects of Wilkes’ personality by dividing it into two parts, one that is exposed to the audience and another that is hidden from them. Sheldon’s bedroom and the kitchen are set up in the center of the stage, with the audience seated on tiers to the left and right.
Sonya Drum, scenic designer, said the show was a challenge.
“It was a super hard show to design, probably one of the hardest shows I’ve done in a while,” Drum said. “… The idea of having this intense show, and being feet away, that was really exciting.”
Brosnahan said while everyone involved enjoyed working on the play, the circumstances for theater professionals are becoming more difficult.
“A lot of people don’t know what it takes to produce theater in this town,” Brosnahan said. “Especially since COVID, the money is not there. … The budget, the donors, the sponsors, it’s not what it was.”
Another challenge is that theater production is in direct competition with online streaming services.
“We’re in the Netflix world, so people can consume whenever they have time to consume,” Brosnahan said. “They don’t have to drive to a theater or pay money or any of that.”
One thing is for sure, though, and that is watching “Misery” live is a very different experience than watching a series on Netflix.
The play will be performed at Raleigh Little Theatre every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., as well as on Sundays at 3 p.m., through Nov. 5. Admission is $25 for students.
