Tony Award winner LaChanze, currently on Broadway in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Tony nominee Saycon Sengbloh, and more will take the stage in the world premiere of The Secret Life of Bees, a musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s novel.
The musical, featuring a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, music by Duncan Sheik, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, will begin performances May 12, 2019, at the Atlantic Theater Company before an official opening June 13. Sam Gold will direct the Off-Broadway production.
Sengbloh (Eclipsed, Hair) will star as Rosaleen, a Black caretaker who embarks on a pursuit with the young Lily, played by Elizabeth Teeter (The Audience, The Crucible), to uncover the mystery of Lily’s mother’s death against the backdrop of 1960s South Carolina.LaChanze (a Tony winner for The Color Purple) will play beekeeper August Boatwright, with Eisa Davis (Kings) as June, Tony nominee Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd) as T-Ray, Brett Gray (On My Block) as Zach, and Anastacia McCleskey (Waitress) as May.
The ensemble will include SpongeBob SquarePants standout Jai’Len Christine Li Josey, Romelda Teron Benjamin, Joe Cassidy, Vita E. Cleveland, and Matt DeAngelis. Additional casting will be announced later.
Performances are scheduled to run through July 7.
