A small but powerful cast will take center stage at Capital City Production's next play, "Misery."
Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, "Misery" centers on a famous author, Paul Sheldon, following a terrible accident. After nurse Annie Wilkes, his biggest fan, rescues him from the scene of the accident and begins to care for him in her secluded house, it soon becomes clear she isn't who she appears to be.
"So this whole thing is kind of like the push and the pull of her at times being loving and taking care of him and at times, she's really aggressive. And you never know which Annie you're going to get and he's just sort of along for the ride," director Beth Vossen said.
Vossen added King wrote this show with the idea of Annie representing cocaine addiction, which King struggled with in his early 20s.
"So at times, Annie and him have a great time, they joke and she's sweet to him and sometimes that is great, and sometimes it's really low because the addiction takes you really low," Vossen said. "And it's really scary and at times you're desperately calling for her because you need her so much."
She added, "And so I like it because you see the show in a different perspective when you look at it that way, thinking that it has a deeper meaning than just a woman holding a man hostage."
Sheldon will be played by Adam Shields, while Kimberlee Johnson will portray Wilkes. Buster, the sheriff, will be played by Matthew Raymer.
"I think a lot of people might like to shy away from it just because Stephen King is typically known for horror, but this one's really more on the thriller side," Vossen said. "And this one is surprisingly funny and surprisingly sad and quirky and so I think audiences will be really pleasantly surprised at how much they actually enjoy the show – I know I was when I saw it last year."
"Misery" runs today through Saturday with evening shows starting at 7:30 p.m. and the matinee show starting at 1 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased on ccpjc.org or by calling the Jefferson Bank CCP Box Office at 800-316-8559.
Kimberlee Johnson checks on her patient, Adam Shields, in the Capital City Productions performane of "Misery." (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)
Matthew Raymer and Kimberlee Johnson discuss a New York writer who has gone missing in the area in Capital City Productions' "Misery." (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)
Adam Shields tries to escape his confines in Capital City Production's version of the Stephen King classic, "Misery." (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)
Stephen King's classic, "Misery," comes to life at Capital City Productions, starring Adam Shields and Kimberlee Johnson. (Ken Barnes/News Tribune)