European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 7, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Stage version of novel a much More grueling by Matt Wolf the associated press Stephen King s novel misery inspired a hit movie in 1990 for which Kathy Bates won an Academy award for breaking James Caan s Ankles. Now the thriller about a murderous fan United with her beloved Romance novelist is coming to the West end stage. Scared by the movie just wait say its participants for the play. Quot it s much More grueling Quot said Sharon Cless who makes her British stage debut As the obsessive Annie the theater version opened dec. 17 at the criterion theater. Scottish actor Bill Paterson plays the hapless writer Paul. Quot in the movie she Breaks his Ankles in the Book she chops off his foot with an a Quot Cless said. Quot we re doing the Book. It s much . While Rob Reiner s movie focused on Caan and Bates its Stalwart supporting cast included Lauren Bacall Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen. Simon Moore s two character stage adaptation is by necessity More  s closer too to  s original hunches. Quot i was surprised when miser was a movie and had always thought if anything it s a play Quot King said by Telephone from his office in Bangor Maine. Quot it s a two act one set moneymaker. The question is does anyone really want to see it now that it s been a movies Quot co producer Andrew Welch Hopes so budgeted at just Over $315,000, a Sery must play to at least 45 percent capacity in the 594-seat theater to break even. Britain s previous King stage adaptation the musical of his novel Carrie was a fiasco. It premiered in Stratford upon Avon in 1988 and went on to lose $7 million on Broadway. Quot it died like one of those cartoon characters that goes screeching into the Wall Quot King recalled. With misery its creators have gone Back to the novel not the film hoping to restore the balance Between Annie and Paul that they feel was slanted in the  Gless better known for her Rote on television s Quot Cagney amp Tacey Quot witty Nedalyn rights making her London stage debut in Quot misery fits Simon Moore who wrote the stage script said his version is a play about two people while the film was More Quot a piece about one person and her  Moore said the film was Quot pretty much played As a straight horror thing about a conventional action hero who s suddenly . The play he said is Quot about somebody s fall from  Quot Simon has been Able to turn the focus away from the crazy and Back to the writer Quot King said. Moore is a graduate of Hull University in the North of England. His previous credits include the British to series traffic a stage musical up on the roof which received. Three nominations for Laurence Olivier award London s equivalent of the Tony and last year s critically acclaimed film under suspicion with Liam Neeson and Laura san Giacomo. The play is Only the second stage appearance of Gless better known for her starring roles in the lbs to series Cagney amp Lacey and the trials of Rosie o Neill. A two years ago she appeared in a stage production of Lillian Heilman s watch on the Rhine in Springfield mass. Quot a a \ Quot i did t think i d Ever see me on the London stage Quot she said a. What persuaded her having recently put on 7 to 10 pounds she was thrilled to find a character who does t have to be svelte. Quot i thought Why do ail women have to be thin a and the next Day the Tetter came from the carnival theater people the producers Quot she said. Quot ii was a Little . So instead of los Angeles Sun she s getting used to London rain and to constant drills with a dialogue coach to master a demanding script. And what about the pet pig so essential a part of Bates screen performance Quot there Are no livestock on stage Quot replied Gless Quot i be got to do it on my  musical classic is born again in by Matt Wolf the associated press the leading character beats his wife much of the second act takes place in heaven. People speak of clambakes and Fairgrounds but their passions run deep a an dark. Mix these diverse ingredients with one of the musical theater s most rapturous scores Ever and you have Carousel. The 1945 musical by Richrd Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein ii has been revived in the production of a lifetime at the Royal National theater and it s unlikely this musical War horse Wilt Ever look quite the same. The production which opened to rave reviews dec. 10 at the National s Lyttelton theatre stars american actor Michael Hayden As the volatile carnival Barker,1 Billy Bigelow Joanna Riding As his patient and put upon wife Julie Jordan and Patricia Routledge As Nettie Fowler the whistle blowing local Matron and Sage. It Marks the state subsidized venue s fourth musical venture following cups and Deijs Jean Seberg and sunday in the Park with George. It s far and away its Best a a labor of. Love on the part of director Nicholas Hytner designer Bob Crowley and choreographer sir Kenneth Macmillan former principal choreographer of the Royal Ballet who died oct 29, Jess than a month into rehearsal Hytner is Best known internationally for directing the hit musical miss Saigon but the 36-year-old englishman said his aim with Carousel was to prove that it Quot is As Good As musical theater gets and that includes opera and Ballet As  still Quot Good Quot does t mean cohesive. The problem remains How anyone approaching Carousel reconciles its emphasis on violence and psychological repression with the sheer exuberance of june is Bustin out All Over and a real Nice Clambake. Hytner said such demands made the  suited to the National. Quot this is not being done As some sort of commercial revival Quot he said prior to the opening Quot it s a re examination in the same Way Chekhov and Shakespeare get examined Quot it s very much a National theater aesthetic. Nothing gets done just because that s the Way it s always been done you question everything from  the result is neither wilfully perverse nor revisionist. Instead Hytner and his cast have taken an acute Scalpel to Hammerstein s libretto revealing its dark and potent commentary on sexual attraction which originally May have been veiled on stage and in the sanitized 195g film with Gordon Macrae and Shirley Jones in Carousel Billy swings his fist where others might turn a phrase and it s not until the first act finish Soliloquy that he lays Bare his own feelings of Inadequacy alongside his love for Julie and the child she Wilt soon have. Worried about having the Money to support his family Billy joins the Neer do Well Jigger Phil Daniels in a botched nighttime robbery. The incident precipitates Billy s suicide and his desire for one last Chance from beyond the grave As 15 years elapse and he sees his own teen age daughter Louise repeating the destructive ways he knows All too Well. Calling Billy Quot one of the great parts Quot Hytner said the character s Quot wildness and violence Spring from vulnerability and self  Quot a Man beating his wife is in no circumstances Beautiful Quot said Hytner Quot but he s not necessarily an evil Bugger either. What one has to do is seek identification As much for the beater As the  intention pays off. Hayden a 29-year-Oldtresh out of new York s Juilliard drama school makes Clear the sensitivity behind the Macho swagger. His co Star Riding finds exactly the mysterious Reserve in Lulie that her Good Friend Carrie Pipp Ridge Janie de sings about in the opening number you re a. Queer one Julie Jordan abiding plays her this Julie Intuit the depth of bitty s feeling for her even once his death has cast him in the Community s eyes As a near legendary thug. The results satisfy dramatically and melodically and Macmillan s Long act 2 dance for the adolescent Louise Bonnie Moore a at once petulant and provocative a ensures Ballet Manes won t be disappointed either. The Advance Sale for the production is $2 million a record for the National. So too is the top ticket Price of $43. 10 stripes Magazine january 7, 1 j93