“Misery,” June 1 through 11

Thursday, June 1, through Sunday, June 11

Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, 600 Robinson Drive, Geneseo IL

Praised by Talkin' Broadway as "a play that will keep you on the edge of your seat" and "great fun for fans of this genre," William Goldman's Stephen King adaptation Misery enjoys a June 1 through 11 run at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, this terrifying and darkly funny tale beloved by horror devotees who devoured King's bestseller and Rob Reiner's 1990 film version starring Kathy Bates in her Oscar-winning role.

As Misery begins, hugely successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and he wakes up in a bedroom of her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads his latest book and becomes enraged when she discovers that the author has killed off her favorite literary character Misery Chastain. Annie consequently forces the injured, captive Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere, perhaps even if he finishes the book. The increasingly irate and unhinged Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it – and it does. A Broadway hit in 2015 starring Bruce Willis and the Tony Award-nominated Laurie Metcalf, Misery was lauded by NBC NY, which raved, “There are no lulls in famed screenwriter William Goldman’s 90-minute stage adaptation of the Stephen King story, which Goldman himself translated into the 1990 film. Exposition that took a dozen pages in paperback and at least several minutes on screen plays out ... faster than snow piling up in a Colorado blizzard.”

Directing Misery for Richmond Hill is venue veteran Dana Skiles, whose other productions for the theatre have included Here Lies Jeremy Troy, Clue: On Stage, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and whose recent on-stage appearances include roles in All My Sons and the comedy pair of Drinking Habits and Drinking Habits 2: Caught in the Act. And with Megan McConville serving as the play's stage manager, three additional Richmond Hill veterans compose Misery's cast. Terrorized author Paul Sheldon is portrayed by Jonathan Grafft, a veteran of The 39 Steps, Escanaba in da Moonlight, and Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some). Psychotic fan Annie Wilkes is played by Jackie Skiles, whose considerable credits in Geneseo include roles in Busybody, California Suite, and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike. The local sheriff Buster, meanwhile, is enacted by Patrick Kelly, familiar from Richmond Hill productions of Drinking Habits 2, Here Lies Jeremy Troy, and Sex Please, We're 60.

Misery runs at Geneseo's Barn Theatre from June 1 through 11, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $12, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)944-2244 and visiting RHPlayers.com.