As Bees in Honey Drown

As Bees In Honey Drown is a satirical comedy by Douglas Carter Beane.

The play premiered Off-Broadway in a Drama Dept. production at the Greenwich House Theatre on June 19, 1997. The play had readings at the Drama Dept. and Portland Stage Company, Maine (in the 1995-96 season) and had a workshop at the Sundance Playwrights Festival.

The play transferred to the Off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre on July 24, 1997 and closed on June 7, 1998 after 366 performances. Directed by Mark Brokaw, the cast featured J. Smith-Cameron (Alexa), Amy Ryan (Amber/Back-Up Singer/Secretary/Bethany/Ginny), T. Scott Cunningham (Ronald/Skunk/Mike), and Bo Foxworth (Evan Wyler). Beane won an Outer Critics Circle Award for his writing, and lead actress J. Smith-Cameron won an Obie Award for playing Alexa.

Alexa Vere de Vere, a flashy con artist who captivates and takes advantage of the almost-famous, has a new target in mind: Evan Wyler, a young New York writer. Alexa meets with Evan, claiming to be a record producer and asking him if he will write a screenplay based on her glamorous life story; this will require him to follow her around and take notes. She promises him fame and fortune in return—the same things she has promised, but never given, to so many other hot young aspiring celebrities.

As Evan accompanies her, Alexa spends money in lavish and wasteful ways, eating and staying at the Royalton and buying new suits from Saks Fifth Avenue. At one point, Evan offers to pay for lunch, and she repays him with too much money. From then on, Evan uses his credit card to buy everything for Alexa; but while she promises to pay him back, she never does.

Evan is gay, but that does not stop Alexa from bringing passion and romance into the situation. On a ferry boat, a glimmer of romance begins and they end up sleeping together at the Royalton. Alexa then opens up about painful events in her life, giving Evan the last of the material he needs for the screenplay. They are scheduled to meet in LA to discuss the movie opportunities it involves when Evan Wyler is given notice that his credit card has been maxed out and Alexa has disappeared.

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Wikipedia