Steve Key and Wandachristine in “Misery” at American Blues Theater. (Michael Brosilow)

American Blues Theater sets the bar high for Halloween season, delivering a tightly focused fever dream version of Stephen King’s novel “Misery.” The psychological thriller is made more unnerving by the humorous touches in this stage adaptation by William Goldman (“Marathon Man,” “The Princess Bride”).

The premise: Popular novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash in a snowstorm by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, a nurse who holds the injured writer’s fate in her hands at her isolated Colorado home.

King writes strong female characters, and Wilkes is one of his best. When Kathy Bates played the nurse in Rob Reiner’s 1990 movie adaptation, she won an Oscar. When Laurie Metcalf played the role on Broadway in 2016, she earned a Tony nomination.

Portrayed here by veteran actress Wandachristine, this Annie has depth and nuance. Wandachristine has a rich, reassuring voice. If you woke up from a bad accident and found her caring for you, you’d thank your lucky stars. It’s a beguiling performance of a “determined woman,” and, for a slender person of a certain age, she’s mightier than she looks. The character’s belief that she’s doing God’s will only makes her more terrifying.

It adds a certain X factor that she is portrayed by a Black woman. When Annie speaks of her favorite historical novel and says of the 1860s “That was a better time,” the line becomes creepier and harder to interpret. Her declarations of “I’m not stupid” suggest a proud person who has been underestimated for far too long. Even if she is deranged.

She’s matched by actor Steve Key in the role of author Paul Sheldon. A multiple Jeff Award-winner, Key has the less showy part, but he anchors it in realism by communicating his confusion and pain along with the dawning realization that he’s in real trouble.

Before the characters are even introduced, there are hints that something just ain’t right. The scenic design by Shayna Patel implies a divided personality.  The rooms are superficially normal — but look closer and you’ll see peeling wallpaper, cracks and mold.

Lighting and sound design conjure some very effective lightning and thunder, and there are surprises in the costumes that suggest the masks we all wear and the ways we switch codes from one situation to the next. Annie’s crazy-quilt robe offers a sly suggestion about the person who wears it.

Steve Key and Wandachristine in “Misery” at American Blues Theater. (Michael Brosilow)

“Misery” is a savvy exploration of how people can over-identify with celebrity. It also ponders an author’s obligation to fans and how a popular artist can feel trapped by their expectations. These strangers might have an insatiable appetite for an artist’s work, but as the story makes clear, “Too much of anything can kill you.” And when an author is literally writing for his life, as he is here, it adds an ominous edge to the notion of “fan fiction.”

Dire circumstances are leavened by humor from unlikely sources: the florid music of Liberace or the banality of the TV show “Love Connection.” Dialogue often works on several levels at once, blending the wicked and the funny until it’s all wickedly funny.

King understands the dramatic value of seclusion — this isn’t even his best-known work about snowbound characters isolated in Colorado (that would be his supernatural juggernaut “The Shining”). In interviews, King has said that the character of Annie Wilkes represented the cocaine addiction he was trying to break in the 1980s. Annie is a potent metaphor for something or someone that may seem harmless but has power to destroy.

“Misery” is directed with a sure hand by Halena Kays, perhaps best known to audiences for “Burning Bluebeard,” a moving take on the deadly fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago. She also directed the hit thriller “On Clover Road” at American Blues Theater.

This was my first visit to the theater’s new home at 5627 N. Lincoln Ave. (right next to the O-Mi Motel!). It’s an ideal and accommodating mid-sized theater and should be on your list of places to check out if you haven’t already.

After a standing ovation on opening night, I overheard an audience member laugh and say, “I think I may have PTSD!”  Perhaps he should see a doctor. Or a nurse.

“Misery” runs at American Blues Theater through Oct. 26.

Marc Vitali is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.