For Immediate Release: September 26, 2006
Media Contact: Kristy Chen, The Players Club of Swarthmore, 610.328.4271

Stephen King fans now have a chance to see his work live and on stage - thanks to an adaptation by Simon Moore at The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater. Misery, which opens this Thursday, is a psychological thriller about romance novelist Paul Sheldon - who wakes from drunk driving accident in the home of his self-proclaimed "number one fan".

Unfortunately, Sheldon's newfound caretaker proves to be less than an angel of mercy. And since his injuries leave him helplessly dependent on her, he is essentially her prisoner.

Part of the intensity of the stage version stems from the fact that it's a two-person show. All of the action is wrapped up in the interaction between star and fan, patient and nurse, man and woman. Director Jim Carroll of Springfield was tasked with finding two actors with the skills to pull it off. He found them in Gerre Garrett of Brookhaven and Mike Hagan of Havertown.

Interestingly enough, the two have been cast in a similar pairing before - Garrett played Nurse Ratched to Hagan's McMurphy in a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Garrett says she is, "delighted to be torturing Mike Hagan again...and now I can outrun him." But Hagan cheerfully chimes in that, "Maybe this time I will get the last laugh."

Misery runs October 19-22, 26-29 and November 2-4. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances are at 8pm and Sunday matinees are at 2pm. The Players Club of Swarthmore is located just minutes from the Blue Route and I-95 at 614 Fairview Avenue in Swarthmore. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students (18 and under or college students with ID) and are available in advance by phone or online. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.pcstheater.org, or call 610-328-4271 (Info) or 1-866-811-4111 (ticket sales through TheaterMania). Please note: because of its language and subject matter, Misery may not be appropriate for pre-teen audiences.

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