Alli Adams
OpenStage Theatre & Company presented the play “Misery” at The Lincoln Center’s Magnolia Theatre Nov. 1-29, showcasing a bolder, more challenging form of theater to the Fort Collins community.
In its 53rd year, OpenStage has become a prominent theatre company in Northern Colorado, connecting audiences through open and engaging stories.
“Misery” is a play adapted by William Goldman based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel. It follows a famous romance novelist, Paul Sheldon, who gets in a car accident and is rescued by his self-proclaimed No. 1 fan, Annie Wilkes. When Wilkes discovers Sheldon has killed off her favorite character in his series, she becomes aggressive, insisting he fix his mistake or face consequences.
Jacob Offen was the director of “Misery” and has been the producing artistic director since July 2025. Offen said he and his predecessor noticed people doing the show after it premiered on Broadway in 2015. Offen said he was excited to report that they were selling out performances every night.
“There’s so many people of different generations that would dig this show,” Offen said. “There’s people (who) know the book from when it was first written and people that know the movie. We knew that it was going to hit all of the audiences.”
Jessica Emerling Crow played the role of Annie Wilkes and said she believes the show drew people in through its comedy and horror.
“I think the name of the show just naturally brought ticket sales,” Crow said. “We’ve been really lucky to just perform for awesome houses every night and awesome audiences who also got a lot of the humor involved.”
Timothy Ackerman, who played Paul Sheldon, has been with the company since 2003.
“Best feeling (is) being out there with all those people looking at you,” Ackerman said. “(Magnolia Theatre is an) amazing theater to get to perform in, absolutely.”
Ackerman said he considered the role of Paul Sheldon to be very challenging in some of the best ways. He said he learned something every day, growing in listening and seeing how he could embrace the pain and manipulation in his character.
“There’s so many ways art and theater can challenge audiences, especially with how contentious everything is in the world. It’s a really great way to be able to give accessible art to people that can broaden what people are thinking.” –Jessica Emerling Crow, Annie Wilkes in “Misery”
“In theater, you’re acting with your whole body, and I had to do that but limited,” Ackerman said. “The main thing for me has been to stay present, to stay listening and reacting and thinking as the character.”
Crow said Annie Wilkes was a fun and challenging role as well, finding it interesting getting to explore how to play a character that is constantly up and down as the play progressed.
“As an actor, you can’t really play somebody who’s crazy; you just have to be that person,” Crow said. “So I kind of felt, like, protective of her the whole time because I have to play her believably as somebody who feels, like, justified in her actions.”
Offen said rehearsals were both challenging and exciting, particularly when they began performing on the stage itself.
“It is a monster of a show in the best way,” Offen said. “All of the fights, the technical elements, bringing on different props and how time changes over the span of the play requires so much technical stuff. Whether it’s costumes or props or sets or lights, especially lights and sound, they all play a huge part in time.”
As this was Offen’s first time directing a full-length play, he said he appreciated how working with a small cast gave them more opportunities to work together and discover how to build on the work’s elements and characters.
“We really got to dig deep into some of the character work and have candid conversations, trying different things and take a lot more detailed time that you wouldn’t always get with a larger cast,” Offen said.
Crow and Ackerman both recalled the importance of building trust between one another. Ackerman recalled, particularly, when he had to throw a typewriter at Crow’s face. Because they were the only two people acting on stage, they had to truly connect to ensure that the play flowed smoothly.
“The actors have deepened their sense of listening, responding to one another and to the world around them,” Offen said. “They’re not following the recipe, you know, but rather exploring and living in the moment more.”
After the show, the tight-knit crew lingered together, cleaning up the stage while also boosting one another about the performance they created.
“There’s so many ways art and theater can challenge audiences, especially with how contentious everything is in the world,” Crow said. “It’s a really great way to be able to give accessible art to people that can broaden what people are thinking.”
Reach Sananda Chandy at entertainment@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian