[NEohioPAL]REPOSITORY REVIEW OF "MISERY" AT NORTH CANTON PLAYHOUSE

Mon Oct 13 13:28:59 PDT 2003

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North Canton Playhouse production darkly funny, suspenseful
Sunday, October 12, 2003 By DAN KANE Repository entertainment editor
NORTH CANTON =E2=80=94 The biggest compliment I can give to the North Canton=
=20
Playhouse production of Stephen King=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9CMisery=E2=80=9D is t=
hat it made me forget about the=20
movie version.=20
And the movie, as those who have seen it can attest, is pretty darn=20
unforgettable.=20
=E2=80=9CMisery,=E2=80=9D it turns out, is perfectly suited to the stage. Th=
e story line has=20
been pared down to the essentials: an alarmingly unhinged woman and her prey=
,=20
a seriously injured man who is trapped inside her remote farmhouse.=20
It is a two-character, one-set play that is claustrophobic, intensely=20
dramatic, sometimes darkly funny and genuinely suspenseful. The acting is te=
rrific.=20
The play opens after Annie Wilkes (played by Stefanie Coletti) has rescued=20
Paul Sheldon (Dick Reiss) from his car, which has veered off the road and=20
crashed in a snowstorm. His legs are badly broken. Rather than take him to a=
=20
hospital, Annie, a retired nurse, takes him home and notifies no one of his=20
whereabouts.=20
By huge coincidence, Paul is a famous romance novelist whose books =E2=80=
=94 a=20
melodramatic series whose heroine is named Misery =E2=80=94 are Annie=E2=80=
=99s very favorite=20
thing. Bed-bound, in excruciating pain and increasingly dependent on the=20
prescription pills Annie doles out when she feels like it, Paul is held host=
age with=20
little chance of escaping. Their relationship is one twisted power trip. By=20=
turns=20
sweetly childlike and murderously enraged, Annie is the most careless of=20
caretakers. Her retirement from nursing, we learn, was not by choice.=20
Once Paul decides he has nothing to lose and begins plotting his escape, Ann=
ie
=E2=80=99s cruelty and violence escalates. There are some genuinely horrific=
 jolts.=20
One involves an ax.=20
As nutso Annie, Coletti gives a multifaceted, gutsy and wholly entertaining=20
performance. There=E2=80=99s weird comedy in her use of words like =E2=80=
=9Ccockadoodie=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9C
dirty birdy,=E2=80=9D her seemingly pubescent crush on Paul and her frequent=
 gorging=20
on salty snacks, but then Annie shifts gears and reveals a fury almost=20
supernatural in its potential for destruction. The actress is riveting.=20
As her hapless and physically passive captive Paul, Reiss is marvelously=20
focused and compelling and even sharply witty. You can see Paul=E2=80=99s wi=
ly brain=20
working as he tries to outsmart this most unpredictable of women, and his ph=
ysical=20
anguish is palpable in his labored maneuvering of a wheelchair.=20
The production, directed with a sure hand by Edward Kuntzman, makes effectiv=
e=20
use of atmospheric horror-movie music and eerie lighting.=20
A hallway outside Paul's bedroom prison at times has a crimson glow that=20
suggests hell =E2=80=94 especially when a silhouetted Annie appears with wea=
pon in hand.=20
Yes, =E2=80=9CMisery=E2=80=9D has arrived just in time for Halloween.=20
Performances run through Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30=20
p.m. Sunday, at Hoover High School at 525 Seventh St. NE in North Canton.=20
Tickets, $10 for adults and $9 for students and senior citizens, are availab=
le at the=20
door. The play is recommended for mature audiences due to profanity and=20
violence.=20
You can reach Repository Entertainment Editor Dan Kane at (330) 580-8306 or=20
e-mail:=20
dan.kane at cantonrep.com

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<DIV class=3Dsecond>North Canton=
 Playhouse production darkly funny, suspenseful</DIV>Sunday, October 12, 2003=20
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 width=3D"100%" border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<DIV class=3Dthird>By DAN KANE Repositor=
y entertainment editor</DIV>

NORTH CANTON =E2=80=94 The biggest compliment=
 I can give to the North Canton Playhouse production of Stephen King=E2=80=
=99s =E2=80=9CMisery=E2=80=9D is that it made me forget about the movie vers=
ion. 
And the movie, as those who have seen it can=20=
attest, is pretty darn unforgettable. 
=E2=80=9CMisery,=E2=80=9D it turns out, is pe=
rfectly suited to the stage. The story line has been pared down to the essen=
tials: an alarmingly unhinged woman and her prey, a seriously injured man wh=
o is trapped inside her remote farmhouse. 
It is a two-character, one-set play that is c=
laustrophobic, intensely dramatic, sometimes darkly funny and genuinely susp=
enseful. The acting is terrific. 
The play opens after Annie Wilkes (played by=20=
Stefanie Coletti) has rescued Paul Sheldon (Dick Reiss) from his car, which=20=
has veered off the road and crashed in a snowstorm. His legs are badly broke=
n. Rather than take him to a hospital, Annie, a retired nurse, takes him hom=
e and notifies no one of his whereabouts. 
By huge coincidence, Paul is a famous romance=
 novelist whose books =E2=80=94 a melodramatic series whose heroine is named=
 Misery =E2=80=94 are Annie=E2=80=99s very favorite thing. Bed-bound, in exc=
ruciating pain and increasingly dependent on the prescription pills Annie do=
les out when she feels like it, Paul is held hostage with little chance of e=
scaping. Their relationship is one twisted power trip. By turns sweetly chil=
dlike and murderously enraged, Annie is the most careless of caretakers. Her=
 retirement from nursing, we learn, was not by choice. 
Once Paul decides he has nothing to lose and=20=
begins plotting his escape, Annie=E2=80=99s cruelty and violence escalates.=20=
There are some genuinely horrific jolts. One involves an ax. 
As nutso Annie, Coletti gives a multifaceted,=
 gutsy and wholly entertaining performance. There=E2=80=99s weird comedy in=20=
her use of words like =E2=80=9Ccockadoodie=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Cdirty birdy=
,=E2=80=9D her seemingly pubescent crush on Paul and her frequent gorging on=
 salty snacks, but then Annie shifts gears and reveals a fury almost superna=
tural in its potential for destruction. The actress is riveting. 
As her hapless and physically passive captive=
 Paul, Reiss is marvelously focused and compelling and even sharply witty. Y=
ou can see Paul=E2=80=99s wily brain working as he tries to outsmart this mo=
st unpredictable of women, and his physical anguish is palpable in his labor=
ed maneuvering of a wheelchair. 
The production, directed with a sure hand by=20=
Edward Kuntzman, makes effective use of atmospheric horror-movie music and e=
erie lighting. 
A hallway outside Paul's bedroom prison at ti=
mes has a crimson glow that suggests hell =E2=80=94 especially when a silhou=
etted Annie appears with weapon in hand. 
Yes, =E2=80=9CMisery=E2=80=9D has arrived jus=
t in time for Halloween. 
Performances run through Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. F=
riday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, at Hoover High School at 525 Seven=
th St. NE in North Canton. Tickets, $10 for adults and $9 for students and s=
enior citizens, are available at the door. The play is recommended for matur=
e audiences due to profanity and violence. 

You can reach Repository Entertainment Editor=
 Dan Kane at (330) 580-8306 or e-mail: 
<A style=3D"FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14px; COLOR: #000066; FONT-FAMI=
LY: Times New Roman, arial; TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href=3D"mailto:dan.k=
ane at cantonrep.com">dan.kane at cantonrep.com</A></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><=
/FONT></BODY></HTML>

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