MISERY Comes to The Fine Arts Center Theatre in October

The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company will present “Misery,” live on stage Oct. 12–29, 2023. The play by William Goldman is adapted from Stephen King’s classic horror novel and directed by SaMi Chester. 

“Misery” follows successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and 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. 

“We’re going to bring you something new,” said Chester. “I want people to sleep with their lights on for a couple of nights after they see this production, but I also want them to be empathetic to mental illness. We can’t just say, ‘Annie’s bad because she killed all these people.’ We have to ask ourselves a serious question: ‘What put her in that position to do the things she did, and what would have happened if we had really been paying attention?’” 

Chester is the founder and artistic director of BeBop Theatre Collective, which provides creative support, education and experimentation in script development, production workshops, and access to venues for innovative artists. BeBop advocates for social justice and continues to push the envelope by shaping its theatrical works to probe the human condition. Chester is also the artistic director and co-founder of Studio One, an arts program in the heart of the East Village. 

The Fine Arts Center’s production of “Misery” stars three actors who are making their FAC stage debuts. Clark Carmichael will be playing novelist Paul Sheldon. Carmichael is best known as Dean Masters on the first season of “House of Cards” and Connor Riley, the Irish hit man on “Gotham.” He appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard's “Jumpers” and is a company member at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. 

Taking on the challenging role of Annie Wilkes is Casey Killoran. Killoran is a television, film, and stage actress. A native Staten Islander based in Brooklyn, NY and also a filmmaker, her films have been in more than 25 film festivals. 

Rounding out the cast in the role of Sherriff Buster is Michael Jankowitz. Jankowitz’s long career has included stage, television, and film roles, including “The Equalizer” and “Goodfellas.” 

The artistic team includes FAC Producing Artistic Director Chris Sheley (scenic design), Holly Rawls (lighting design), Harry Nadal (costume design), Lawrence Schober (sound design), Martinique Barthel (stage manager), Morgan Gatson (assistant stage manager), Samantha Egle (fight choreographer), and Holly Wenger and Madison Dillon (prop supervisor).