The Atlantic Theater Company’s world-premiere musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s best-selling novel The Secret Life of Bees officially opens Off-Broadway June 13 following previews that began May 12.
The musical has a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, music by Tony winner Duncan Sheik, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead.
Set against the backdrop of 1960s South Carolina, the story follows the journey of Rosaleen, a Black caregiver who is beaten and jailed for asserting her right to vote, and the young Lily, a restless teenager haunted by her mother's death.
Fun Home Tony winner Sam Gold directs the production that stars Tony nominee Saycon Sengbloh (Eclipsed, Hair) as Rosaleen and Elizabeth Teeter (The Audience, The Crucible) as Lily.
Read: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES MUSICAL
The principal cast also includes Tony winner LaChanze (The Color Purple), Eisa Davis (Kings), and Anastacia McCleskey (Waitress)—as the Boatwight beekeeping sisters—along with Tony nominee Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd) as T-Ray and Brett Gray (On My Block) as Zach.
Rounding out the cast are Jai’Len Christine Li Josey, Romelda Teron Benjamin, Joe Cassidy, Vita E. Cleveland, Matt DeAngelis, and Nathaniel Stampley.
The Secret Life of Bees features choreography by Chris Walker, scenic design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Jane Cox, sound design by Dan Moses Schreier, puppets by AchesonWalsh Studios, musical direction by Jason Hart, music contraction by Antoine Silverman, orchestrations by Sheik and John Clancy, incidental music orchestrations by Sheik, hair and makeup design by Cookie Jordan, fight direction by UnkleDave’s Fight House, dialects by Dawn-Elin Fraser, and casting by Telsey + Company, Patrick Goodwin, CSA.
A workshop production of The Secret Life of Bees was presented by New York Stage and Film & Vassar in 2017.
