by Douglas Carter Beane
Stageworks Theatre
Tampa, FL
July 8th 2010
How far would you go to further your art?
Stageworks Theatre presents As Bees in Honey Drown by Douglas Carter Beane, the playwright of The Little Dog Laughed. As Bees in Honey Drown follows the story of young artists on the rise to fame and fortune and the con artists out to exploit them. Presented in the intimately set Shimberg Playhouse, Stageworks Theatre brings this New York City set story to life within arms reach. This incredibly engaging play is sure to delight and intrigue everyone in attendance during it’s July run.
As Bees in Honey Drown takes you on a road of fame and fortune at the cost of innocence. We meet our protagonist Evan Wyler as he poses for a magazine ad to promote his new book. Soon after, Evan is contacted by Alexa Vere de Vere to write the screenplay of her life at an alarming weekly wage. Alexa showers Evan with lavish gifts all the while giving arbitrary information for the screenplay Evan is commissioned to write. After Evan begins to fall for his new employer, he learns of Alexa’s true intentions and is abandoned with $15,000 in debt. During the second act, we learn of Alexa’s transformation from ambitious Brenda to her con artist alter ego Alexa. After clever investigation, Evan plots his revenge to confront Alexa along with a myriad of other conned victims. How does it end? You’ll have to catch a show to find out.
Our story’s protagonist Evan Wyler is superbly portrayed by Nick Horan. Horan’s take on Wyler is near perfect with his ability to transform from timidly awkward to life-hardened in the span of the play. Playing the sinister role of Alexa Vere de Vere is Heather Krueger. Krueger’s ability to take the audience for a ride just like the unsuspecting artists was well performed and well received. Bravo. A surprising role was that of Mike Stabinsky portrayed by Slake Counts. I did not like Counts’ other characters as Ronald the salesman or Skunk the British rocker and was not thrilled when Counts stepped on stage as Stabinsky. With that being said, from Counts’ first lines as Stabinsky, he turned my skepticism into adoration for a wonderfully personable portrayal as Alexa’s friend from her old life. Utilizing different costumes, speech dialects and mannerisms, the supporting cast of Patrick Ryan Bolger, Tia Jemison and Alison Burns each played a cavalcade of characters to round out the story.
The beauty of the story presented by Stageworks is it’s ability to draw us in the same way Alexa draws in her unsuspecting “lambs” to finance her life. With rich and insatiable dialogue, the empathy of audience members is palpable in the audible reactions at the close of the first act and the story's climax. The arc and development of Evan Wyler’s character is best I’ve seen in quite some time. From his humble beginnings as a budding writer to the clever and conniving artist he becomes, there is something everyone can associate with Wyler’s character along the way. It is very tricky to produce flashback on stage; with Beane’s mastery of language, the cast of As Bees in Honey Drown brought Alexa Vere de Vere’s past to life in the second act. Kudos to Stageworks Theatre for presenting the best play I’ve seen this year.
Not since seeing The Woman in Black last October has there been such a complete performance from the prowess of the actors, to the technical backing to the story itself. Nick Horan and Heather Krueger leave nothing to desire of their performances and both can only get better as the run of the show continues. A special thanks to director Karla Hartley for her string of extremely successful shows including Eurydice and tick, tick Boom! and now As Bees in Honey Drown. I'm positive the next show with Hartley at the helm will without doubt be a complete success.
As Bees in Honey Drown plays at the Shimberg Playhouse at the David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts through July 25th and should not be missed. Don't forget to follow us on twitter for the latest information on all things performing arts in the Tampa Bay area.
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