Photos: ‘Misery’ loves creepy at Good Luck Macbeth

“Misery” is originally a novel written by the King of Horror, Stephen King. William Goldman adapted the novel into a play, but the plot remains unchanged.

Writer Paul Sheldon is taken in by his delusional number one fan, Annie Wilkes, after he suffers a car accident near her rural home. Despite nursing him back to health, Annie has no intentions of letting Paul go until he writes her favorite character back to life.

As a fan of the novel and the 1990 film adaptation, I was pleased to see this live-action play succeed.

With only one set dressing due to the claustrophobic setting, the actors’ performances needed to stand out for this production to shine. Luckily, they did. The show I attended had Stacy Johnson playing Annie and David Richards playing Paul. These two actors are drowning in talent. Stacy’s portrayal of Annie deeply unsettled me, and whenever David grunted or winced in pain, I felt it myself.

Depending on what night you go, you may see Sandra Brunell Neace play Annie and Kevin McCray play Paul. This double cast gives you an excuse to see the show again, which I plan on doing.

The show was basically perfect, but there is always room for improvement. With there being little to no costume changes and no set changes, I don’t understand why sometimes we would wait in the dark for 30 seconds between scenes. It was enough time to notice it was taking a while for the lights to return, but as soon as Annie Wilkes walked on stage, I was immediately back in the story.

The show isn’t necessarily scary, but it is still perfect for the Halloween season. You will feel creeped out while watching, but you can sleep easily afterward. Unless you’re a cocky writer… then you may need to keep one eye open.