Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The world premiere musical adaptation of THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES is musically and emotionally ravishing

• By drediman
• June 18, 2019
• No Comments

LaChanze and Elizabeth Teeter in Atlantic Theater Company’s production of “The Secret Life of Bees” at the Linda Gross Theater. Photo by Ahron R. Foster.

This past weekend, Lynn Nottage, Duncan Sheik, and Susan Birkenhead’s new musical, the world premiere stage adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees (based on Sue Monk Kidd’s 2001 novel of the same name), opened Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theatre, courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company. Set in South Carolina during the turbulent mid-1960s, the coming-of-age story tells the unlikely tale of two young runaways, a white teenager and her black caregiver, who seek truths about the past when they take sanctuary with three black beekeeping, deeply religious sisters.

First off, Mr. Sheik’s music is ravishing, easily his best effort since his work in the Tony-winning Spring Awakening. His magnificent gospel- and R&B-tinged score is unlike anything he’s given us in the past. It’s also gloriously orchestrated for an onstage band of about ten, and it sounds simply stunning live in the theater. Following suit are Ms. Birkenhead’s lyrics and Ms. Nottage’s book, both of which elegantly capture Ms. Kidd’s story with texture and heart. All around, the musical version of The Secret Life of Bees buzzes with quality. Like the current Broadway hit, the award-winning Hadestown, you’ll walk out of the theater transformed by the unexpected power of its collective and gorgeously integrated theatrical storytelling.

Director Sam Gold (Fun Home) directs with the kind of intimacy and emotional precision that we’ve come to expect from him. The transcendent experience of watching the show is less akin to your traditionally-constructed musical than it is some sort of mystical religious experience (the Linda Gross Theater, a former church, is the perfect venue for the production). Although the adaptation needs just tad more focus and punch, there’s already an authenticity and richness to the staging that sets it apart.

The cast is astonishing from top to bottom, and I don’t think I’ve heard a musical as soulfully sung as this one in a long time. As the two runaways, Elizabeth Teeter and Saycon Sengbloh are devastatingly vulnerable and emotionally naked throughout much of the show. And as the three beekeepers, the ethereal trio of LaChanze, Eisa Davis, and Anastacia McCleskey deliver deep, emotionally resonant performances that have stuck with me. My hope is that the exquisitely distinctive The Secret Life of Bees finds further success on a larger stage.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
Off-Broadway, Musical
Atlantic Theater Company / Linda Gross Theater
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through July 21