Few writers are as adept at capturing audiences in terror as Stephen King. The Civic Theater will bring one of King's most infamous stories to life when it stages its production of “Misery.”

Starring T.J. McCombs as Annie and Robert Scrimm as Paul, and directed by Philip Colglazier, “Misery” opens at 8 p.m. Friday at Arts United Center.

“Misery” follows the struggle of romance writer Paul Sheldon, who created the popular character Misery Chastaine. After a car accident, Paul is rescued by Annie Wilkes, his “No. 1 fan.” Annie's devotion quickly turns to cruelty as she holds Paul hostage and forces him to rewrite the Misery character, whom he had killed off in his latest book.

The book was written by King in 1987 and made into a feature film in 1990 starring James Caan as Paul and Kathy Bates as Annie. Bates won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.

The play was adapted by Simon Moore, the Emmy-winning writer for the UK miniseries “Traffik.” “Misery” is the first King work that has been adapted for the stage.

The Civic jumped at the chance to produce a King work for the stage, knowing that the tension and terror would be great for the audience.

“The challenge is to keep the suspense going,” Colglazier said. He said a lot of the tension comes through the dialogue, the lighting and the movements of the actors. He said that with only two characters, there were many challenges to overcome, including memorization.

“There are a lot of lines for the two of us,” McCombs said. The play is expected to run about two hours, with a 15-minute intermission.

McCombs recently played M'Lynn in First Presbyterian Theater's production “Steel Magnolias.” In addition to acting, she has been involved in theater as director, costumer, set designer and lighting designer. She loves playing Annie because it's a different kind of role for her.

“I love the challenge of a character like this,” McCombs said. She read both the play and the book, and also watched the movie. Though she and Scrimm are about the same height, McCombs looked imperious and terrifying during the rehearsal.

Scrimm has played many roles, most recently Renfield in “Dracula, Baby” at Arena Dinner Theatre. He also composed the original score for this production and assisted in the overall sound design.

Scrimm said his biggest challenge in the play was the wheelchair. “I've been getting used to it,” he said. Part of the difficulty was that he had access to it only during rehearsals, so it took about two weeks before he could master the movements.

“I've lived an extremely sheltered life compared to what Paul has to go through,” Scrimm said.

McCombs and Scrimm have worked together at various theaters before.

When she graduated from college, she was in a production at Arena Dinner Theatre, and Scrimm was there with his family. “We've crossed paths several times over the years,” McCombs said.

“There's a lot of trust between us. There has to be,” McCombs said. There are dangerous stunts and props that the two have to use, so they have developed ways to keep each other from getting hurt.

The content of “Misery” is sometimes violent, and the movie depicts some brutal scenes of torture. For the Civic's production, Colglazier said this production received an R rating and is meant only for mature audiences.

Colglazier said he doesn't want to give too much away, but there will be some things that may frighten or terrify the audience. He said McCombs and Scrimm are able to make the threat seem real. “They create the illusion of violence.”