Preparation is well underway for Farmers Alley Theatre’s “Misery”, running March 5 through March 15. As the company prepares to take on the challenge of bringing this brilliantly horrifying play to life, I sat down with two of the three actors involved, Laura Jordan (Annie) and Paul Stroili (Paul), to discuss their preparation and thoughts on the process.
Delving into the Dark Minds of “Misery”
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When asked about the preparation of Paul Sheldon, Stroili was shockingly secretive, claiming that he wants the audience to be surprised with the choices that he makes. He did, however, tell me how his character resonates with him, “I am a writer and a playwright, so I think I have a special affection for Paul and the loneliness and arduous nature of writing. This role is not a similar one to one I have played before, but it could be the closest to me personally. I mean we’re both named Paul for one thing. Even the initials are the same!”
While Stroili relates a lot to his character, it can be difficult to dive into the mind of the antagonist. Figuring out what makes Annie tick will be a feat, but Stroili has no doubts that his costar will get the job done, “Laura Jordan is an immense talent, and Annie has the much heavier lift in this production. This play is Annie’s world, the rest of us just live in it.” And while they are living in it, the rest of us are just visiting that world for a short 90 minutes on a single night. We just see the culmination, not the strenuous months of work to get that mesmerizing final result.
So, how is Jordan preparing for that heavy lift? When asked, Jordan brought up that it has been difficult to not compare herself to Kathy Bates, the 1990 movie actor, “Kathy Bates was legendary in the film– she won an Oscar and it was her first film appearance! I think what I need to keep in mind is that I'm a completely different person. I would not be serving anyone if I tried to do an impersonation of Kathy [Bates], because who can do that? It’s like asking different artists to draw a cat. They’re all going to draw a recognizable cat, but they’re all going to be different versions, and all those versions are equally valid.” This is an enlightening point on artist interpretation: even though Jordan’s version of Annie will be different from Kathy Bates’, it will still have notes of raw skill and artistry, as she is a powerhouse of an actor in her own right.
Putting “Misery” on its Legs
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It is also true that all art forms produce differing reactions. When asked about the differences between staged theatre, film, and novels, Stroili said, “[Theatre is] right there – with a book or a movie there’s the separation of screen or page, in the theatre – you’re all there in the room with them.” Live theatre always adds a level of intimacy and vulnerability completely of its own. When you put a Stephen King horror into a black box theatre like Farmers Alley’s it makes the experience of live theatre even more thrilling. I personally recommend not wearing white if you are sitting in the front row…
Horror put on stage is engrossing, not only because of the technical elements (which our team is killing), but also because it puts you face to face with the flaws of humanity in real time. In “Misery” specifically, we see what happens when an obsession is taken too far. Jordan says, “Annie’s someone who is, at best, gently tethered to the real world, and when the only person in the world she would really want to get to know appears, and in terrible need, the thrill of saving him is so overwhelming to her.” Annie means well at the beginning of the play when she finds out that Paul has been involved in a car accident, but we then get the treat of being a bystander of Annie’s slow burn into madness.
In Annie’s defense, we can all relate to having celebrity crushes and famous role models. And because of the pedestal on which they stand, our opinion of celebrities can shift at the flip of a dime. Because of their media exposure, celebrities lose their ability to make mistakes in a society where cancel culture has become so prevalent. Annie is an embodiment of the phrase “Never meet your heroes” in “Misery”, as we witness her opinions of Paul change throughout the play.
When discussing her embodiment of Annie, Jordan added onto these sentiments, and specifically how Annie takes the cancelling of Paul Sheldon to extremes, “Fan culture is huge now, so I think most people can relate to being wildly into an actor or character [...]. Also - who hasn’t fantasized about getting up close and personal with someone you really admire or have a crush on? Admittedly, most of us wouldn’t do what Annie does, but I’ll bet almost no one would turn down the chance to hang with our favorite actor/writer/musician. And I think ‘Misery’ offers everyone the chance for a kind of catharsis, as we all think, “oh [wow], I wouldn’t ever do that!”, when we watch Annie do what she does, and we can root for Paul to get away from her.”
So, not only is “Misery” a “classic scary tale” like Stroili says, but Stephen King’s “Misery” also stabs its onlookers with some truth about the flaws of our world. All of us have darkness within us and we get to see how Annie and Paul address theirs. I personally couldn’t be more excited to see how this heart pounding show will pulsate through Kalamazoo’s heart this March.