Review: MISERY at ALLEY THEATRE

MISERY debuted as a novel by Stephen King in 1987. It told the intense story of a writer of a period romance series trapped by his “#1 fan,” forced to bring back a character from the dead, all while he fights for his own life, while recovering from a near-fatal car crash. It’s the stuff of nightmares, and Rob Reiner successfully brought it to the big screen in 1990 with a dynamite cast including James Caan and Kathy Bates. Bates went on to win the Oscar for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes, the nurse who holds author Paul Sheldon hostage. Torture, obsession, addiction, and the psychology of art all collided in both the novel and the film. The screenwriter was a playwright, William Goldman. Surprisingly, English stage writer Simon Moore first adapted the story into a 1992 West End play, and Sharon Gless played Annie Wilkes. But in 2012, William Goldman himself rewrote the show as a piece of theater. He tweaked it further for Broadway in 2015 with Laurie Metcalf and Bruce Willis. And now, fourteen years later, The Alley Theatre has cast the only married couple in their company to play the leads, Elizabeth Bunch and Chris Hutchison. Whether you’re a #1 fan of Stephen King or just coming in the door cold, this MISERY is worth enduring. The acting is top-notch, and the tech puts the film to shame. I would never have guessed I would ever say, I had so much fun in MISERY, and it does love Alley company’s married couple - Elizabeth Bunch and Chris Hutchison. 

The biggest question hanging over MISERY is whether the casting of author Paul Sheldon and his tormentor and fan Annie Wilkes is correct. The entire play hinges on their chemistry, and even on Broadway, while Laurie Metcalf was Tony-nominated, Bruce Willis was eviscerated by critics for being stale and, in some previews, for using an earpiece to hear his lines. This is essentially a duet, and it has to work. No need to worry here, because the Playing Field has been fiercely leveled. Elizabeth Bunch and Chris Hutchison were made to be together on stage.  They slip into these roles alarmingly well. Elizabeth has the Herculean task of reinventing an iconic performance, and she makes it her own while also paying homage to Kathy Bates. Annie is in her own voice, and she finds some pathos that are unique and chilling. Chris has to writhe in pain for most of the play, and he is such a physical actor that he thrives in a role that others would ironically die in. You feel his struggle with everything, including psychotic, toxic criticism. They become these characters, wholly embracing every aspect of them. Annie and Paul replace Elizabeth and Chris. They instinctively know when to let the campy humor fly, but also sense when the suspense needs to be ratcheted up. They trust each other enough to let the violence go off the chain, and it’s effective. So much so, I left the performance worrying about their marriage. Christopher Salazar gets to make a similarly brilliant turn in a small role as the Sheriff. He, too, evaporates into the miasma that is MISERY. This is a cast that fully commits, and it is a thrill ride to witness them go for broke. 

Technically, I was gobsmacked by MISERY. Tim Mackabee creates three separate sets that are revealed on a revolve, each one made me gasp. The attention to detail inside and outside Annie’s house is next-level design. The movie wasn’t even this well articulated. The rooms even change right along with Annie’s moods, and the sets act just as hard as the cast does. Kudos to fight director Adam Noble and whoever did the gore effects. The Alley really made them nicely over-the-top for this show, and they were so much fun. You’re really not going to be disappointed in this one. Brandon Weinbrenner is the director, and it is one of his last gigs at the Alley as associate artistic director before he leaves to become artistic director of the Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. He certainly is leaving on a high note, because he makes MISERY work every way it should. Please tell me he will come back now and then as a guest director. 

MISERY isn’t officially this year's Alley Summer Chills production, but it certainly might as well be. They’ve done right by the insidious Stephen King story and Rob Reiner’s film, and produced an entertaining roller coaster that makes the narrative worth revisiting or discovering for the first time. I’m already its NUMBER ONE FAN! Married couple Elizabeth Bunch and Chris Hutchison go for broke as well as the jugular, and Christopher Salazar and the tech team are right there with them. This is a way to experience MISERY as you've never experienced it before, up close and intimate.  And to see two wonderful actors jeopardize their own marriage for the show is a unique thrill all its own. 

MISERY plays at The Alley Theatre through June 28th. It is the Broadway version, which runs one hour and forty-one minutes without any intermission. It’s fast and tight, but strategically plan your bathroom visit right before the show. You don’t want to miss a minute of this.

More on Alley Theater

Recent Articles

First Look at MISERY Onstage Released by Alley Theatre in Houston

6/7/2026