By Doug Iden
“Bee”ware of what you wish for. The futuristic, cautionary tale The Apiary concludes Falcon Theatre’s season of regional debuts.
Plot and Characters
Set in the near future, two lab assistants for a large corporation try to combat the imminent extinction of honeybees, which are among the world’s greatest pollinators. Bees only exist in a limited number of labs worldwide. Zora (Rachel Mock), with a doctorate, takes a modest job as a lab technician trying to save the remaining bees in captivity. We’re not sure why she left her previous prestigious position. She joins Pilar (Natasha Boeckmann) an enthusiastic worker who cares for the bees as though they were her children. After an awkward initial meeting, the women start to bond with a common goal of saving the hives. Queen Bee Gwen (Amanda Marasch), an archetypical bureaucrat, drones on about strict protocols to follow while remaining within their meager budget or the people “upstairs” may cut the entire program. Another worker Cece (Anna Hazard who plays multiple roles) suddenly dies in the lab and instantly the bees start to thrive. This phenomenon causes Zora and Pilar (later enlisting Gwen) into a wild scheme to save their beloved insects. Then, things go a little cattywampus. And what do the bees represent?
Important Themes
The story swarms with themes including friendship, sacrifice and ambition. The initial polarizing difference between higher education and native intuitive feelings gradually morphs into a friendship where each character begins to respect and embrace their differing approaches towards problem solving. Corporate greed and bureaucratic intransigence are scathingly portrayed. Because of their success with the bees, Zora is promoted “upstairs” and begins to assume the posture of corporate arrogance and dismisses Pilar. In their own ways, each of the characters tries to commune with nature to ascertain its needs and intensions. Love of nature, and bees in particular, is paramount.
Production and Design
Director Chad Brinkman skillfully moves the one-act play along its hive of activity. The single set (designed by Brinkman) represents the lab with numerous props (by Kathleen Leone) including two wooden hives for the bees which can be taken apart showing the shelves (with bees and honeycomb) inside. Later, as the bees multiply, a second set of hives is introduced. We also see test tubes, foggers for the bees when the hives are open and an off-stage desk. Stones on the floor represent dead bees.
Costumes by Averie Shutters are many and varied and are crucial to the plot. The highlight is the beekeeper’s protective gear which includes a full-body uniform with gloves and a netted hat. When Zora is promoted, she wears a business suit. Gwen, initially, wears a garish, red woman’s business suit which implies she doesn’t really fit in “upstairs”. Hazard wears different sets of clothes for her four different characters. A combination of sound design (Ted and Samantha Joy Weil) and lighting (Brinkman) creates the illusion of the bee’s swarming but also hints at differences in their temperaments.
Strong Ensemble
Each of the four women are excellent. Mock takes Zora on a pilgrimage from an imperious, detached bee expert to a passionate and energized activist for the bees but then has second thoughts. Boeckman portrays Pilar as a positive, almost giddy, lover of the bees and her interaction with them and later becomes a co-conspirator. Most of the humor (and there is quite a bit) emanates from Pilar as a cheerleader anthropomorphizing with the bees. Marasch moves Gwen from a stiff-necked autocrat to another enthusiastic co-conspirator as the bee’s success guarantees her job. Hazard is masterful playing four different roles including an introspective person who “talks to bees”, to a victim to young hippie.
Overall
Executive Director Ted Weill has fashioned another deep, thought-provoking regional debut. As with the other plays this season, you will think about The Apiary for quite a while. All of the theatrical elements (acting, costuming, lighting, direction, sound) combine into marvelous storytelling.
So, grab your honey, comb your hair and don’t bee late for The Apiary at Falcon Theatre, in Newport, KY. The Apiary runs through May 16, 2026. Get tickets and more information HERE.
