Misery

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Someone crept into Miners Alley Playhouse and stole Paige Lynn Larson’s identity.

Paige Lynn Larson and Cjardo Lindsey star in The Miner’s Alley production of Misery.

The program says Larson plays Annie Wilkes in Miners Alley’s production of Stephen King’s terrorizing Misery. On stage there is no sign of Larson anywhere. Annie shuffles from one room to another faltering between child-like attributes to menacing psychotic behavior. Eyes glow one second with little girl eagerness and the next with a monstrous irrational threat. Freezing into a forbidden universe where no one else can go, and no one else would want to go, her eyes burn vacant and cold and body stiffens to stone. The heart jumps a beat. How long will she stay there? Who will she be when she returns?

Larson’s versatility frequently amazes as she takes on very serious roles as well as the very funny comedic personalities, feeling at home wherever the stage takes her. Bringing Annie fearfully alive, punches the mouth open for the entire production.

Director, Robert Kramer carefully nudged Larson and Cajardo Lindsey, playing Paul Sheldon, out of the way so Annie and Paul could have free reign. His intense intricacies in direction reveal themselves in the final awesome product.

Annie lives on a small farm in the Colorado Mountains. Very few visit. Very few want to visit thinking she’s crazy. With a variety of animals, she named a sow Misery. To say she is a fan of romance author Paul Sheldon is a creepy understatement. She calls herself his greatest fan. Obsessed is more like it.

Too much celebrating, too much champagne when Paul finishes a Misery book, runs his car into a ditch. As luck would have it, Annie finds him, taking him home as her captive.

Lindsey takes on the role of Paul with blatant artistic ingenuity standing shoulder to shoulder against Larson’s Annie. Standing may be misleading since most of the time he is flat on his back or struggling in a wheel chair. Figuratively speaking, his artistic ingenuity stands up to Larson’s believable quality.

Writer of romance novels, like any good growing writer, Paul wants to expand into other areas. The Misery books have given him a good ride. When he kills off his heroine, Misery, in his next book, Annie freaks into torment.

With broken legs, a storm, downed telephone lines aided and abetted by Annie, he has no choice but try to live with her erratic behavior. His cries for pain medication from this once upon a time eerie nurse, who uses them as a ploy to get what she wants, brought their own memories to my shoulder and back.

Annie cruel, psychotic, hiding vulnerability from a painful past she wasn’t able to rationalize in perspective. Larson creates Annie with built in fear by anyone coming in contact with her, including across the boards, creating a personality one can empathize with because of her horrific childhood. To care about someone and to fear them requires a fine line of delineation.

Lindsey provides Paul with smooth sophistication. In spite of his agonized treatment, his intelligence allows him to know when to play the game with her, and when to turn the tables over. Paul’s every move becomes believable, reflected in his face. Through his glances, his eyes become a window into his thinking process, moving the audience along with him. Nothing about this production whispers contrived.

This is a play right? This isn’t reality right? Caught up in the middle of King’s incredible story, one begins to wonder as stage and theatre meld into shadows as Larson and Lindsey catapult the audience into a dramatic experience of awesome caliber.

Richard H. Pegg’s ingenious set creates the illusion of a small stage becoming a large rambling house. With cut away walls, Annie can shuffle up and down the hallway, disappear into her bedroom, and fuss around the kitchen while Paul agonizes in writhing pain. When one of her off beat moods strikes her, and Annie leaves him for a couple of days, Lindsey creates all too real unbearable suffering without medication.

Karalyn Pytel’s lighting design doesn’t help matters much. Only stated as the height of compliments. She targets the moods, desperate changing emotions, and battle of wits between mental illness and physical disability with cunning, conniving lighting.

Benaiah Anderson, a professional Fight Director and Stage Combat Instructor, choreographed the horrendous fight scene between Annie and Paul. A life or death matter for the two characters, this scene demanded to be totally believable, and it is.

Even though Kathy Bates did a phenomenal job in the 1990 film, gleaning her an Academy Award, Larson steals the candled spotlight.

Scary movies, plays generally leave me laughing. Not this time. The psychological make-up of Annie and the calculating thinking process of Paul in the midst of horrendous physical pain created such believability, attention captivated 100%.

In spite of the numerous outstanding theatrical choices this Miners Alley production should definitely not be missed. Not by King fans. Not by professional actors or by beginners or intermediates. Not by set designers, lighting designers, people who love the theatre, people who aren’t sure yet whether they love the theatre, people who have never gone to the theatre, people who love a good story, people who love to be entertained with substance. People, who frequent Miners Alley Playhouse, people who have never been to Miners Alley. No one should miss this incredible production that is just about as perfect as theatre can get. Bring an extra pair of socks in case yours get blown off. Miners Alley Playhouse has steadily been climbing the ladder of top theatrical companies in the Denver Metro Area, and this is one production that will be talked about for some time.