Ben Stiller in Talks to Play Jack Torrance in ‘The Shining’ Stage Adaptation
variety.comRebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterBen Stiller is in talks to star in Ivo van Hove’s upcoming stage adaptation of Stephen King’s horror classic “The Shining,” Variety has confirmed.
The play is scheduled to open on the West End next year.Should Stiller’s deal close, he will play the lead role of Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who is hired as an off-season caretaker in a historic Colorado hotel.Stiller has performed on stage before, in 2011’s Broadway revival of John Guare’s “House of Blue Leaves” with Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
He also appeared in the original 1986 production of the Broadway show.“The Shining” is expected to begin rehearsals in the fall in time to debut in January of 2023.
Producers hope the play will eventually move to Broadway. Additional casting has yet to be announced. The stage adaptation of “The Shining” is expected to stick to King’s 1977 book rather than Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 1980 film, in which Nicholson played Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall played Jack’s wife Wendy Torrance and Danny Lloyd played his young son Danny Torrance.Van Hove, who recently directed an ultra-modern take on “West Side Story” on the Great White Way, assembled a creative team that includes writer Simon Stephens (“Sea Wall/ A Life”) and producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”).Van Hove’s other stage work includes 2019’s Broadway adaptation of “Network” with Bryan Cranston as anchorman Howard Beale, as well as a 2019’s West End take on “All About Eve” starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James..
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