Review: Stray Dog Theatre's Buzz-Worthy Production of AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN

Stray Dog Theatre provides the discerning viewer with more alternative fare during the holiday season with their fine production of Douglas Carter Beane's pop culture-driven work As Bees in Honey Drown. Beane's script is peppered with blisteringly funny lines that tumble forth with reckless abandon, often going nearly unnoticed until they resonate later. Stray Dog's production of this clever and amusing work is a real delight, smartly staged and filled with strong performances.

When a shirtless picture of author Evan Wyler graces the pages of a trendy magazine, he draws the eye of Alexa Vere De Vere, an impossibly loquacious, self-described record producer, who wants him to write her life story as a screen treatment. Wyler, who's experiencing a great deal of critical success, is otherwise living from hand to mouth while waiting for his financial ship to come in, and he jumps at the chance to earn the thousand dollars a week that Alexa flashes at him. Still, though she's able to completely charm him, there's something cryptic and unpredictable about her that disturbs him. Maybe it's the fact that she never actually ends up paying for anything, making up excuses about accountants, and somehow charging it all on Evan's credit card. Of course, she's pulling a con, and when she suddenly leaves town he's left with fifteen grand worth of debt. But, he's just not willing to let it go, and the second act picks up with Evan seeking some sort of revenge.

Martin Fox is very good as Evan, who's changed his moniker from the more Jewish Eric Wollenstein, in order to make his name as a writer. Fox projects the proper naive qualities that one would expect from Evan, given the speed at which he falls under Alexa's spell, and when he falls in love with her, in spite of his homosexuality, it's outrageously believable. Sarajane Alverson is a pistol, as always, and a nice match for the role of Alexa, rapidly firing off her dialogue in a nonstop fashion that befits this cunning grifter. Her brief scenes as her original incarnation, Brenda, are particularly interesting, since we get to witness her re-invention, born first out of desperation, but made permanent after the thrill becomes addictive.

The supporting cast, who all play multiple roles, includes: Stephen Peirick's sharp work as a struggling painter named Mike Stabinsky who inspires Brenda's transformation; Kevin Boehm as Morris Kaden, a record producer she name drops, and who's actually an earlier victim of her shenanigans; Bess Moynihan as a former victim named Illya Mannon, as well as a current patsy Alexa is playing; and Anna Skidis as Bethany Vance.

Gary Bell's splendid direction mines the text for maximum comic effect, and he keeps the action moving along at a brisk clip. Tyler Duenow's lighting scheme adds atmosphere, and neatly frames key moments. L.D. Lawson's basic black set allows for several different levels, and benefits from a background of skyscrapers to set the locale. Justin Been's sound design acts to set the mood for each scene.

Stray Dog Theatre's buzz-worthy production of As Bees in Honey Drown continues through December 18, 2010 at the Tower Grove Abbey.

 

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