'Misery' has company at the Albuquerque Little Theatre

Misery loves company, especially when that company is not only your idol, but an idol who holds the key to completing your favorite novel series.

Albuquerque Little Theatre will bring “Misery” — a play based off the original Stephen King story — to life starting Friday, April 25, bringing the sensation of horror and tension right to audience members.

When novelist Paul Sheldon gets injured after a serious car accident, he believes he is saved when nurse Annie Wilkes comes to his rescue. Little does Sheldon know, Wilkes is a mega fan of Sheldon’s book series “Misery’s Child” and has her own plans for her author in distress.

“Annie Wilkes has her own ideas of what should happen in her world, and she starts seeing that Paul Sheldon is actually getting better, and his legs are healing after his car accident, and she wants to keep him around so that he can continue writing this book series that she is so fond of,” said Lando Ruiz, director of the show.

For Ruiz, being able to direct such a popular story was an honor, but he also allowed himself to take creative liberties to show a new rendition of a well-known performance while still maintaining some of the more “iconic” aspects that make the play what it is.

“The things we kept in were sort of the iconics ... the traditional Kathy Bates attire with the forest green, that’s one that we really wanted to make sure that we had, just because audiences are going to be excited about it, and it would be doing a disservice if we didn’t show that,” Ruiz said.

Other portions of the show, like the home that Sheldon stays trapped in for several months, were adapted to better fit the Albuquerque Little Theatre stage and to give a fresh feel to the show.

“The set is actually intentionally built to be more representative of like a cave and really isolate Paul while he’s inside his world,” Ruiz said. “I wanted to make it all about the house and focus on the confined space that he’s in since you’re reading from his point of view.”

The play, which focuses on love turned into a dark obsession, transports audience members to an eerie feeling of confinement while also highlighting how quickly a fascination can turn into derangement. One scene, which depicts a gruesome act of violence from Wilkes that causes Sheldon to hobble with his new disability, was kept in to not only keep the horror aspects of the show, but to truly highlight how demented Wilkes’ love and adoration turn.

Ruiz said that because of the violence and darker themes, it was important to both he and the actors to ensure mental and physical safety during rehearsals for the high intensity show.

“We’ve had discussions and talks about how to keep each other safe while working with one another, but also keeping yourself safe and having to leave the character on the stage,” Ruiz said. “We’ve been able to talk things through and make sure that we’re all on the same page when it comes to safety and the storytelling.”

Due to the stage violence, “Misery” is intended for an older audience, ages 14-plus. However, Ruiz said for those who enjoy a touch of terror in their plays, “Misery” is the right show for them.

“If you are a fan of Stephen King, of horror, of drama, of all of these dark, macabre images, and want to see it in a new and different light, I think this version of this story is a fantastic one to either step into for the first time or to continue that well-rounded knowledge that comes with a lot of Stephen King’s universe,” Ruiz said.

'Misery' has company at the Albuquerque Little Theatre