Misery would love company in Geneseo

Publish date: 2024-05-05

Richmond Hill Players will open the intimate thriller “Misery” — by William Goldman, adapted from the novel by Stephen King — on Thursday, June 1.

The show will be presented Thursdays through Sundays, June 1-11 at the Barn Theatre in Geneseo. Dana Skiles, Geneseo, directs the three-person play, based on the popular 1987 novel, made into a 1990 movie starring James Caan and an Oscar-winning performance by Kathy Bates.

Goldman (1931-2018) — who wrote the “Misery” screenplay — is also famous for penning screenplays for “The Princess Bride,” “All the President’s Men,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “Marathon Man.” His stage version of “Misery” ran 102 performances on Broadway in 2015-16, starring Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf.

In the chilling, tense story, successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by his self-described “number-one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and he wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads his latest book and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain.

Annie forces Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The irate Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it…and it does. The intense show is rated PG-13 for violence and mild language.

The cast features Jackie Skiles as Annie, Jonathan Grafft as Paul, and Patrick Kelley as a state trooper. 

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, the Richmond Hill doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the show beginning at 7:30.  Sundays are 3 p.m. matinees with the doors opening at 2.

Tickets are $12, available by calling the box office at 309-944-2244 or by visiting the RHP website HERE. Late seating is not permitted; no one will be admitted to the theater after the show has started.

An audio description performance will be held Friday, June 2.  Richmond Hill also offers Assistive Listening Devices, which can be requested at the time that reservations are made.

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