We asked award-winning actors and Ensemble members Wandachristine (Annie Wilkes) and Steve Key (Paul Sheldon) a few questions. You can read their bios in CAST.
What excites and challenges you most about playing your iconic roles in Misery?
W: When our Artistic Director, Wendy Whiteside offered me the role of “Annie Wilkes” over a year ago …I was SPEECHLESS! I was humbled immediately that she would consider a Black Woman of a “certain age” to bring the role that Kathy Bates won an Oscar to the stage. Plus, Steve and I have been itching to work together for years. Once we found out we were finally getting a chance to work together, it made it even more special.
SK: I love the challenge of diving into characters who are dealing with wildly different circumstances from my own, while working through challenging relationships of psychological complexity. That’s where MISERY starts. Then it just gets wilder, more challenging and complex with every turn of the page. So, I’m both extremely excited and kinda intimidated by this play. Paul, the character that I’ll be playing, begins to learn, early on, that he has to be sharp and the more he discovers the more extreme the situation becomes. I love it!
Have you ever performed in a psychological thriller, or is this your first time working in the genre?
W: As a veteran actress, I have never had the opportunity to perform in a psychological thriller. This is my first. Most casting directors have always placed me in the Comedy and safe Drama category; that’s why I find this role so challenging and yet exciting. Once I received the script, I immediately contacted my Personal Coach and he and I went to work; in fact we’ve spent over a year preparing me physically and mentally for the role. Of course I watched the film “MISERY” many times; but I stopped because I didn’t want to pick up any of Kathy Bates nuances, it was important for me to make Annie “my own”. So my Coach had me watch interviews of female sociopaths, especially the ones that committed heinous crimes. I also became engrossed in watching Showtime’s ”DEXTER”. Watching “DEXTER” gave me some of the physical and emotional characteristics that I was looking for…like how can you be so “comfortable” in killing and continue on with your day. I became (and I still am) fixated with watching YouTube videos of killers being interviewed after they’d been caught; especially the ones that have murdered their lovers. Those are my favorites!
SK: BUG which I did at Steppenwolf a few years back was definitely a thriller, and I’ve done a few others, however MISERY is more decidedly in the center of the psychological thriller genre than anything I’ve had the chance to work on. The relationship between Annie and Paul is so mercurial that I don’t think I’ll know what I need to bring to the process until we get in the rehearsal room. However, I’m certain it will require tremendous presence and acute attention to one another. Generally, the key to thrillers and other plays with momentum is to keep the thought process flying. You can’t get lazy. Speaking of lazy, I don’t think I’m revealing any secrets by saying that my character spends a good chunk of this play in bed. Still, I’ll have to be limber and physically well prepared, because this show is going to be a roller coaster, psychologically, emotionally, and physically.
Are you a fan of Stephen King and the story of “Misery”?
W: I have been a HUGE Stephen King fan for years!!! My favorite Stephen King novel is “CUJO”; the movie was intense, but I like reading his books and letting my imagination go wild as opposed to his screen adaptations. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve watched “MISERY” even before I was offered the role, every time it came on TV; I had my popcorn ready as I waited for the most gruesome part of the film …you know that part! I LOVE THAT SCENE!
SK: Yeah, I’m a big fan, and most of my experience of his work has been through film. I saw “MISERY” when it came out and it floored me. Then I recently picked up the book. It’s as captivating as I expected, and it was tough to put down. But the details of the play are different enough from the book that I didn’t want to complicate my character’s already complex journey. I’ll finish the book after the play closes. Still, I read enough to see how exceptionally this adaptation captures Stephen King’s world and the rich internal lives of his characters.