Over the years, local actress Susan Sanford has tackled plenty of iconic roles. Little Edie in “Grey Gardens.” The Witch in “Into the Woods.” The Baroness in “The Sound of Music.” But her latest role required her to undergo a type of training that was entirely new to her: how to safely wield a sledgehammer.
“There’s no denying the weight of a real sledgehammer when you pick it up,” says Sanford, who will play Annie Wilkes in the stage adaptation of “Misery” that opens at Virginia Rep’s November Theatre this weekend. “We have a fakie [sledgehammer], but we’re not using it.”
Like the 1987 Stephen King novel that inspired it, “Misery” tells the story of Paul Sheldon, a popular author of Victorian romance novelist who crashes his car during a blizzard in Colorado. Annie Wilkes, a nurse who claims to be his “No. 1 fan,” rescues Paul and brings him to her remote farm to nurse him back to health. While recovering from two broken legs and a dislocated shoulder, Paul comes to realize that he is more captive than patient, and that he must find a way to escape.
The novel was adapted into a 1990 movie directed by Rob Reiner that starred James Caan and Kathy Bates, marking the latter’s Hollywood breakthrough and earning her the Oscar for Best Actress.
The stage adaptation that Virginia Rep is performing was penned by famed screenwriter William Goldman, who also wrote the movie’s screenplay; Goldman’s adaptation was previously staged on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and Bruce Willis in the leads.
In portraying a deranged former nurse who wields a mean mallet, Sanford says the trick is making the audience feel sympathetic for Annie.
“With any villain, the thing to do is to try to humanize them,” she says. “It’s one of those characters where one moment you’re really feeling sorry for her, the next minute you’re horrified by what she does. As an actor, it’s been a great challenge.”
Matt Meixler, who plays Paul in the show, says audiences are in for a thrill ride.
“It’s 90 minutes of a spiraling relationship,” says Meixler, who marks his return to the stage after 13 years away with this show. “No intermission. Hang onto your seats because once we get going, it’s non-stop.”
Meixler says Paul is a bit of an everyman.
“He is just a guy trying to do his best in the worst circumstances, and that’s something everyone can relate to,” Meixler says. “He likes his jokes. That’s one of the things that I’ve been focusing on over rehearsals. The humor in this play, I think, would be overlooked by most people. Paul uses jokes and humor to get out of a lot of situations. He uses it to try to build relationships. He uses it to try to disarm people. He uses it to protect himself, certainly.”
Though audiences may be familiar with the story, Meixler stresses that there’s nothing like the experience of seeing a live theater performance surrounded by other people.
“The hair is going to stand up on your arms,” he says. “There’s an energy. It’s going to crackle when you’re in there.”
Between the fight choreography and the emotional toll of playing their roles, Meixler and Sanford say they’ve had their work cut out for them. Recently, after a long day of rehearsals, they both let out a sigh of exhaustion at the same time as they climbed the stairs to their dressing rooms.
“There are a lot of technical elements that you’ve got to work through. It’s got pyrotechnics. It’s got violence. It’s got a sledgehammer. It’s got a little bit of attempted romance even,” Meixler explains. “As long as a sledgehammer doesn’t hit me in the face at some point, I’m good.”
Sanford says audiences are in for a treat.
“If you love a good scare, if you love a good story, if you love Stephen King — or even if you don’t — it’s just going to be a great, great, fun evening in the theater,” she says. “It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen, certainly at Virginia Rep.”
Virginia Rep’s “Misery” runs Aug. 31-Sept. 29 at the November Theatre, 114 W. Broad St. For more information, visit va-rep.org or call (804) 282-2620.
