
Ben Stiller is known for his comedic roles, but starting early January 2023, he’ll be starring as Jack Torrance in the upcoming Ivo van Hove stage adaptation of the Stephen King classic, The Shining.
The report says Stiller is still in talks to play Jack, but it looks like it’s just about signing an official contract. Rehearsals are scheduled to take place this fall and it’s set to premiere in London in January 2023, with an eventual move to Broadway.
Sources tell Deadline that director van Hove, last seen on Broadway pre-pandemic with the reworked West Side Story, will lead the creative team, with Tony winner Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and, most recently, Morning Sun starring Edie Falco) adapting the King novel. (Stephens also wrote the Sea Wall half of Sea Wall/A Life, with Tom Sturridge starring.)
This stage adaptation was first planned in 2017, and just as they gained momentum, the pandemic happened, which set things back a couple years.
Sources say the stage play of The Shining will adhere more closely with King’s 1977 book than Stanley Kubrick’s film, which in addition to Nicholson starred Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance and Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance.
It should be an interesting production. I would be excited to watch it, mostly to see Ben Stiller in action. Perhaps that’s why they gave him the role.
I mean, Stiller does seem just crazy enough to pull it off.