The Apiary

By Joseph Cervelli

About the only thing I really know concerning keeping bees was from the lovely book made into an equally beautiful film, "The Secret Life of Bees." Kate Douglas's oddly fascinating "The Apiary" at The Tony Kiser Theater presented by 2nd Stage presents bees in quite a different light. It is very easy to spoil what is happening in this play so will tread lightly on that.

At the very start Cece (an excellent Nimene Wureh in several roles) who worked in the apiary is in front of the stage giving a monologue about how important it is to express to the bees you are raising what is going on in your life. Not even so much how much you love taking care of them but having them feel that they are worthy of knowing about your everyday life. When she and her family stopped doing this the bees would no longer make honey. And worse yet, they later put a curse on the family for other reasons. She does give two other monologues one concerning the effect on the world of the demise of most of the bee population and the other more elliptical. 

It is twenty two years in the future and the scientists have created a synthetic apiary where the bees live in year round spring. While we don't see Cece working and she has basically left the lab, we hear from two of the three others now working in it briefly about her life. The issue is that bees are almost non existent now. The three scientists do their best housed in the basement of a facility to keep them alive. Gwen (Taylor Schilling) is the one in charge.  Gwen is angry with the lack of respect those in the hierarchy of the lab have for the work the three are doing.  While Schilling is good, I could have done with less shouting on her part. Pilar (a delightful Carmen M. Herlihy) has a complete love for the bees and seems that this is the most important thing in her rather mundane life. Zora (a fine April Matthis) is new and has a PhD in biochemistry. She worked in a high tech lab but decided to come here being a less corporate environment. She speaks about her adoration for bees since being a child. 

For a while in this 75 minute play not much really seems to happen until the three discover a decayed body on the floor of the lab. You shortly find out who the person was as and a controversal idea comes to Zora about how to save the bees and start a rejuvenation process. Extinction will no longer form into any equation. Zora convinces Pilar about her idea and she is excited to go along with it. Without delving any further you can imagine that experiments can go awry as it so happens here. 

There is also included a dancer (very effective Stephanie Crousillat) who portrays a bee in a glass booth within the apiary. Basically her function is to represent both the healthy and unhealthy bees as they go through various transformations. It does work very well even though it might sound a bit silly or stretching things too far. Not sure if it was the idea of the playwright or the always outstanding director Kate Whoriskey. 

I have admired Whoriskey's work for a very long time. I find she concentrates a great deal on characterization (think "Clyde's" and "Sweat") blending so succinctly into the story line. Here it is a tougher job for her because so much of what happenes has to do much more with the tale being told, yet again she proves her talents.

Walt Spangler has created a perfect sterile looking setting along with Jennifer Moller's varied costumes. 

Here is a play that will certainly divide audiences. It is a cautionary tale about medicine? Have we gone too far in experimentation? Is what the scientists do for the betterment or determiment of humanity. The questions are put forth. It is up to you to make that decision. 

Photos: Joan Marcus

Tickets are available at The Tony Kiser Theater 305 West 43rd Street.