Women on the Verge
The unpredictable, perilous road to an adult life
Elizabeth Teeter and Brett Gray in Duncan Sheik, Susan Birkenhead, and Lynn Nottage’s “The Secret
Life of Bees,” adapted from the novel by Sue Monk Kidd, directed by Sam Gold, at the Atlantic Theater
Company through July 21.
leads them. They are taken in by
the Boatwright sisters, who keep
bees and sell honey. From there,
the story gest confused as we learn
about Lily’s mother and get caught
up in another racist incident, this
time involving Lily and Zachary —
a young African-American man
who has grown up with the love
and support of the Boatwrights
— as they go into town and Zachary
is arrested on trumped up
charges because he’s with a white
girl. There’s also a wooden statue
of Mary that gets bathed in honey,
a ritualistic veneration of same,
and subplots about the sisters.
As a result, the book jumps from
plot point to plot point and never
achieves the emotional impact the
story deserves. Judicious trimming
and focusing the story more
on Lily’s journey and healing would
help the show immeasurably. And
we never really do learn what the
secret life of bees is. It must be a
metaphor, but with no illumination
it sounds like an empty catch
phrase.
Confusing as the story is, the
AARON R. FOSTER
show is never boring, thanks to
the cast. In addition to those mentioned
above, Elizabeth Teeter is
compelling as Lily, and Brett Gray
as Zachary has a powerful and
versatile voice and dynamic star
quality. Sam Gold’s staging on a
largely bare platform is simple and
straightforward, and, while he gets
some moving moments from his
actors, the fragmented nature of
the books makes it diffi cult for the
show to fi nd a coherent voice.
This is a show with exceptional
potential. As the producer says in
“Merrily We Roll Along,” “It isn’t
every day you hear a score this
strong.” With that as a starting
point and with some work, this
show could really take wing.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES |
Atlantic Theater Company at Linda
Gross Theater, 336 W. 20th St.
| Through Jul. 21: Tue. at 7 p.m.;
Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; Wed., Sat. &
Sun. at 2 p.m. | $106.50-$126.50
at ovationtix.com or 866-811-4111
| Two hrs., 15 mins, with intermission
THEATER
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE
“The Secret Life of
Bees,” now getting
a premiere at the
Atlantic Theater
Company, is a beautiful mess. It’s
beautiful primary thanks to Duncan
Sheik’s wonderful score that
synthesizes gospel, country, R&B,
and more and yet fi nds a coherent
and original voice. Especially when
performed by such wonderful talents
as LaChanze, Saycon Sengbloh,
and Eisa Davis, it’s one of
the most exciting original scores of
recent years, certainly Sheik’s best
since “Spring Awakening.” (I was
quite a fan of his “American Psycho”
score, too.) The whole company
is outstanding, and the ensemble
singing under the direction
of Jason Hart is consistently powerful
and moving. Though Susan
Birkenhead’s lyrics tend toward
the simplistic, they’re poetic and fi t
the characters.
It’s a mess because of the book.
In attempting to bring Sue Monk
Kidd’s novel down to a manageable
size, Lynn Nottage has made a noble
effort to fi t all of the story into
the musical. What may be expansive
and atmospheric on the page
bogs down in too much exposition,
especially in the fi rst act.
The story is set in a fi ctional
Southern town just after the signing
of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Lily, a young white girl still grieving
the loss of her mother for which
she feels responsible, escapes her
violent and racist father with her
black housekeeper Rosaleen, who
has been attacked by white men as
she tries to go register to vote. With
only the label from a honey jar left
by Lily’s mother and the name of
her home town, Tiburon, Lily and
Rosaleen set out to fi nd where that
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