By James V. Ruocco
What is happening to the honey bees in America?
Is there a plague?
Why are they disappearing?
Why are they dying off?
Could they be humming their last buzz?
Scientific research, we are told, hopes to prove that theory wrong.
Yes?
No?
Maybe?
The life span of bees, among other topics, is the centerpiece of Long Wharf's "Queen," Madhuri Shekar's provocative 2017 play that aptly addresses the "colony collapse disorder" experimentation of a six-year university scientific study that rapidly signals the decline and possible loss of the honey bee population.
As the play opens, UC Santa Cruz Ph.D. candidates, colleagues and best friends Sanam Shah and Ariel Spiegel are putting the finishing touches on their exhaustive research about the global vanishing of the honey bee population. Although "Nature Magazine" has agreed to publish their career-defining paper and findings, much to the delight of everyone involved, Shah finds an error in their calculations, which could damage their career and reputation if they decide to commit fraud and tamper with the results, play hardball or stand by their principles, admit defeat and accept the consequences of their actions.
Persuasive.
Appropriate.
Commanding.
Mind-Blowing.
Organic.
Dramatic.
"Queen" is a fresh, unexpected twisty pleasure of fascinating arguments, statistics, hand wringing, campaigning and dramatic wordplay that unfolds with a distinct aesthetic and immersive storytelling grip that adds up to something throbbing, unique and remarkably plausible.
The premise, as written by Madhuri Shekar, is compelling enough to hold the audience's attention for a full 100 minutes (there is no interval), offset by gripping dialogue, story arcs, characterizations and well-crafted story essentials that drive the play forward with page turning excitement and surprise. Everything that happens is trotted out in significant, understandable form with chunks of exposition and information that is relatively easy to follow, thus, avoiding any form of confusion or disconnection on the audience's part.
Mixing metaphors, ecology, math and science into her theatrical commentary, Shekar's frequent twists and turns are pitched effectively as is her anticipation of the subject matter, its language, its playing ground, its desired effect and its unexpected ending. There's also lots of important bookish, classroom information about the actual study of bees, their habitat, their pollination, their reproduction, their swarming, their brood rest, their economic worth, their disruptive behavior and their nutritional/agricultural value. It's all very telling, matter-of-fact and vividly mapped out by the playwright.
The play's last ten minutes - an in-your-face look at beekeeping and the actual maintenance of honey bee colonies - is bee built for beginners but told by the playwright with directness, subtlety and occasional flashes of surreal excitement before the stage fades to black and the actors appear a second or two later when the house lights come up and they gather across the Long Wharf stage to take their final bows.
Drawing the audience into Shekar's fitting, argumentative and thought-provoking play, director Aneesha Kudtarlar accepts the ethics, theories, elements and concepts set forth by the playwright and fashions an assured production with viewpoints and developments that are motivated, creative and heavy lifting. There's no denying the boldness of the endeavor and directorially, she holds the threads of the actual story together with pacy, uncluttered staging, atmospheric overlapping and arch, smartly placed interjection.
The right lighting cues, original music and sound execution lend themselves nicely to the production allowing Kudtarkar room to create, experiment and explore. An awful lot rests on the seamlessness of the action at hand and "Queen's" liberation, honesty and character building blocks adapt a straight-edged fluency that more than complements its intimacy, power, thrust and stinging (no pun, intended) vitality.
"Queen" stars Avanthika Srinivasan as Sanam Shah, Stephanie Janssen as Ariel Spiegel, Ben Livingston as Dr. Philip Hayes and Keshav Moodliar as Arvind Patel.
As Shah, the hard-working, concerned math genius. Srinivasan crafts a focused, important, likeable performance, projecting the urgency of the play script, her character's role in the story's progression and her struggle to make the right choices. Well cast as Ariel, the beekeeper whose passion for her work is now jeopardized by disruption, Janssen enters the mix with a gutsy performance that intrigues, excites and entertains with academia dynamic and heightened intensity. Both actresses also superbly portray the long-term friendship of their characters, the ecological politics of their valued research program and finally, the enticement of world-renowned success and its many, many temptations.
In the role of Arvid Patel, a Wall Street stock trader of Indian descent, Moodliar is both intriguing and confidant, oozing charm and calculation to full effect, matched by a sexual complexity and drive that makes his relationship with Shah, dynamic, passionate and narcissistic. Despite his oversized ego and smarminess, we like him, nonetheless. As Dr. Philip Hayes, Livingston is the right fit for the role (a compliment for the casting team), fueled by ego, dash and a willingness to commit fraud for his own personal gain, regardless of the consequences.
An exciting, effective, involving play about theories, consequences, collapses, miscalculations and moral high grounds, "Queen" pushes boundaries, tests limits and creates the necessary chemistry between actor and audience to accentuate its edgy, scientific allure. It's a quirky bit of off-the-cuff theatre, helmed to great effect by director Aneesha Kudarkar, who unravels Madhuri Shekar's talky, exploratory script with wit, confidence and technique. The well-chosen, ensemble cast of four, furthers that notion with balance, identity and very hard work.
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