AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN Riverbend Theatre Collective at the Village Theatre, Village of East Davenport, Iowa ____________________________________________________________________________
Douglas Carter Beane’s AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN is a dark and sophisticated script that is probably a little cerebral for some tastes, but it is sharp and insightful in a way that only the best dramas are.
The Riverbend Theatre Collective’s production of this show is one that spotlights a handful of the vast talent to be found in the pool of Quad-City area actors, and director-producer Allison Collins-Elfline makes the most of some excellent performers in this first-rate drama.
Maggie Wooley stars as Alexa Vere de Vere, an uber-sophisticated Manhattan high-flyer who name-drops the way some people breathe – and it is Wooley’s performance in this role that is central to this show’s success. A forceful presence whose breezy, vaguely-European air of moneyed "culture" and finishing-school-style veneer and innate charisma draws people to her as bees are drawn to honey (sorry, but Beane’s comparison is particularly apt), Wooley’s Vere de Vere is a whirl of nonstop chatter and expensive perfume who completely captivates.
In fact, she captivates the audience just as totally as she does new author Evan Wyler (played by Jake Walker), and that ability is exactly what BEES is about. Without unfolding the plot – it’s so much more fun to experience it for yourself – I’ll just tell you that Alexa contacts Evan just as he is having his first novel published, and things are never the same again for this first-time author.
Walker is very good as Wyler, too, playing Evan with an awkward naturalism that is totally real. The early scene where he is at his first photo shoot – where we meet a decidedly New-York-gay photographer (played by Patrick Gimm) and his put-upon assistant, Amber (the inimitable Stephanie Burrough) – and Evan gets his first experience with big-city culture shock. It’s a big scene that sets the tone for so much that comes after, and Collins-Elfline stages it down center, giving it the in-your-face presentation it deserves.
So many of the performances in this show are distillations of characters rather than stereotypes, and this sort of acting works because it never aspires to the broad sweep of a caricature. It is a subtle, specific directing choice that vaults the work from merely interesting to absolutely stunning. While the production is certainly a major showcase of Wooley’s acting, this BEES is also a fantastic display of Collins-Elfline’s directing skill that actors and audiences alike are bound to remember for a very long time.
More superb work is on display here, too.
Matt Moody is a major standout as Mike, a brawny, sexy artist who appears in the latter part of the show, and his work in this important role is an amazing display of the talent he so clearly possesses. He easily plays two other characters as well, as do many other performers cast in multiple roles.
Gimm has three in addition to his turn as a photographer, and Burrough plays five more roles, all of them with the same clever awareness she lends Amber. Jill Sullivan-Bennin, who has a total of seven roles, was not able to be onstage at the performance I saw – but I am sure that when she is back she will do the excellent, thoughtful kind of ensemble acting she does so well. (And Esther Clement, who filled in for Sullivan-Bennin on short notice, did pretty nice work, too.)
AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN is a must-see for anyone who appreciates great acting and the fine touch of great directing. It’s excellent, contemporary, adult-appropriate theater that I highly recommend. Don’t miss the chance to see it.
