Johanna Day & Daniel Gerroll to Lead Premiere of MISERY at Bucks County Playhouse

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Castle Rock Entertainment and Playhouse Productions announced today complete casting for the world premiere of MISERY at Bucks County Playhouse (70 South Main Street, New Hope PA). Tony Award nominee JohAnna Day (Proof, August: Osage County) will star as writer Paul Sheldon's number-one fan, 'Annie Wilkes' alongside Daniel Gerroll (Enchanted April, High Society) as 'Paul Sheldon' and James Demarse (The Orphans' Home Cycle, Dividing the Estate) as 'Buster.'

Written by two-time Academy Award-winner William Goldman (who also wrote the screenplay for Misery), based on the acclaimed novel by Stephen King and directed by Will Frears (Coach, Year Zero), MISERY will play a limited developmental engagement of 11 performances only, November 24th through December 8th.

Goldman's adaptation of MISERY was released in 1990 and starred James Caan and Kathy Bates, who won an Academy Award for her performance as Annie Wilkes. The play is a fresh adaptation of King's celebrated novel.
MISERY tells the story of novelist Paul Sheldon (Daniel Gerroll), as he has plans to make the difficult transition from writing historical romances featuring heroine Misery Chastain to publishing literary fiction. Annie Wilkes (JohAnna Day), Sheldon's number one fan, rescues the author from the scene of a car accident. The former nurse takes care of him in her remote house, but becomes irate when she discovers that the author has killed Misery off in his latest book. Annie keeps Sheldon prisoner while forcing him to write a book that brings Misery back to life.

Set design for MISERY is by David Korins (Motown, Annie), costume design is by Academy Award-winner Ann Roth (The English Patient, The Book of Mormon) lighting design is by David Weiner (Godspell, The Normal Heart) and sound design is by Tony Award-winner Darron West (Peter and the Starcatcher, Chinglish). MISERY will feature original music by Michael Freidman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Saved), special effects by Gregory Meeh (Spamalot, Into the Woods) and fight direction by Rick Sordelet (A Streetcar Named Desire, Fences). Casting for MISERY is by Telsey + Company.

Tickets to MISERY are currently on sale to the general public. Ticket prices range from $39 – 54 and can be purchased by visiting www.BCPTheater.org or calling 215-862-2121. The performance schedule will be as follows: Saturday November 24th at 8pm, Sunday, November 25th at 3pm; Thursday, November 29th at 8pm; Friday, November 30th at 8pm; Saturday, December 1st at 2pm and 8pm; Sunday, December 2nd at 3pm; Thursday, December 6th at 8pm; Friday, December 7th at 8pm and Saturday, December 8th at 2pm and 8pm.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.