Stage Review - Misery (Key City Public Theatre)

Stage Review - Misery
Presented By: Key City Public Theatre - Port Townsend, WA
Show Run: October 16 - November 02, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, October 17, 2025 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes (inclusive of a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

There are thrillers that try to scare their audiences with shock value and gore, and then there are the ones that creep under the skin because they understand the art of suspense. Misery, now running at Key City Public Theatre through November 2, is absolutely the latter.  Director Brendan Chambers has crafted a production that thrives not on cheap scares, but on precision—pacing, sound, silence, and the increasingly claustrophobic relationship between two people who need each other for all the wrong reasons.  What unfolds is a masterclass in tension, delivered by a cast and design team that understands that fear, when done well, is a slow burn.

The first thing that jumps out is the striking construction of the set.  Designer Terry Tennesen’s work feels almost deconstructed, as if the house—and by extension, the story—has been stripped bare for us to inspect.  The exposed studs and visible framing make Annie Wilkes’ home feel less like a cozy Colorado cabin and more like an autopsy of obsession and control.  The play takes place primarily in two rooms: the bedroom where Annie tends to her “favorite author,” and her kitchen, but the real brilliance is in how fluidly those spaces transform.  Through an inventive use of a gap between the studs, the front porch and door of Annie’s house roll in with precision, a practical yet poetic reminder that there’s always another layer to this world, waiting to be exposed.

If the set is raw, then Bry Kifolo’s light and sound design is the beating heart of this production.  It’s no exaggeration to say that this is some of the finest technical design work I’ve seen on any stage in the region in a long time.  The opening storm alone is worth the price of admission—a fully immersive experience that envelops the audience in both sight and sound.  Lightning flashes through upstage windows as thunder rumbles not just from the front, but from behind and beside us, the storm seeming to move through the theatre itself.  Each flash and crack draws a startled reaction from the audience.  Then comes the car crash, and its chaos, that transitions seamlessly into the sound of soft, deliberate footsteps.  Those footsteps travel around the audience—front, back, side—until they arrive onstage, punctuated by silence and light as we first see Annie sitting beside the injured Paul Sheldon.  It’s theatrical storytelling at its best: immersive, terrifying, and beautifully orchestrated.

This kind of design mastery continues throughout the show.  The interplay between Bry’s lighting and Brendan’s direction creates a steady pulse of unease, each cue adding to a sense of inevitability that builds until the audience almost forgets to breathe.  Every lighting shift—blue to red, calm to chaos—mirrors Annie’s emotional state, capturing the duality of her character with chilling precision.  It’s a production that reminds us that suspense isn’t about surprise; it’s about control.

As Annie Wilkes, Krista Curry is nothing short of mesmerizing.  Having recently shared the stage with Erik Gratton in the tender Dear Jack, Dear Louise, she now flips the emotional script completely, diving into a role that demands volatility and absolute control at once.  Her transformation between naivety and rage is astonishing—one moment soft-spoken and almost childlike, the next seething with fury.  It’s not a switch so much as a dimmer, sliding smoothly from one shade to another, touching every emotional hue in between.  Her face tells as much of the story as her voice does, and every flicker of expression lands with intention.

Erik Gratton, as Paul Sheldon, is equally compelling.  His performance is grounded, sardonic at times, and layered with the kind of intellectual detachment one expects from a writer trapped both physically and creatively.  There’s humor in his dryness, but when fear sets in—when he’s fighting through pain or trying to read Annie’s next move—his work becomes magnetic.  His physical restraint amplifies the psychological battle taking place in that confined bedroom.  Together, the pair are electric, their scenes oscillating between tenderness and terror in a way that’s exhausting—in the best way—for both them and the audience.

The cast is rounded out by David Wayne Johnson as Buster, the local Sheriff who meets Annie at the aforementioned front door to discuss the mystery of the missing author. David’s performance is solid, and it’s steady in contrast to the largely volatile emotions presented by Krista and Erik.

Credit also goes to Stage Manager Raven McMillen and the crew of Misery for their mid-show transformation.  Between Acts I and II, Annie’s home shifts from a spotless refuge to a chaotic, cluttered space, mirroring her psychological decay.  It’s a subtle but potent touch from Brendan, who clearly understands that Misery is as much about environment as it is about emotion.  By the time the final confrontation unfolds, the audience feels every ounce of that unraveling.

Misery at Key City Public Theatre is a triumph of tone, design, and performance—a perfectly tuned storm of technical excellence and human emotion.  It’s a production that doesn’t just tell a story; it traps you inside one, daring you to look away.  Director Brendan Chambers, his creative team led by Bry Kifolo and her stellar lighting and sound, and phenomenal performances from Krista Curry and Erik Gratton come together to take Stephen King’s psychological terror and make it deeply theatrical, reminding us that sometimes the scariest thing on stage is not what’s in the dark, but what’s standing in the light.

Misery runs on stage at Key City Public Theatre in Port Townsend through November 2. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://keycitypublictheatre.org/.

Photo credit: Mel Carter