Theater Abuzz With Performance of The Secret Life of Bees

Author Sue Monk Kidd will receive the first Literature for Life Award on April 27.

A dramatic adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees (Penguin), Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed Southern coming-of-age novel, is this year's featured production of the performance-based literacy program "Literature for Life" from the New York-based American Place Theatre (APT). The solo show, which is intended for audiences of middle and high school students, will debut on April 27 in Manhattan at the New York Society for Ethical Culture as part of a benefit event for the American Place Theatre's Literature for Life program. Billed as "The Secret Life of The American Place Theatre" and "A Night of 100 Teachers," the event will feature Sue Monk Kidd who will receive the first Literature for Life Award from actor Nathan Lane. Kidd will also lead a colloquy with students and audience members.

David Kener, executive director of APT, spoke to BTW about the theatre's illustrious 41-year history, the book, the Literature for Life program, and the upcoming event, "I am excited beyond belief," he said. "With the underwriting support of Penguin/Pearson among others, we are able to invite one hundred teachers to attend the performance as our guests. Our goal with this play, and all of our Literature to Life productions, is to bring the world of the book to young adult audiences -- we are thrilled if students read the books and take issue with the adaptations -- that's encouraging reading and critical thinking."

Many other literature-based APT works have been performed, and continue to perform, around the country to young audiences, according to Kener. All are professionally staged, verbatim adaptations of significant American literary works -- plays dealing with minority and immigrant experiences are emphasized. Other Literature to Life Productions include James McBride's, The Color of Water, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye.

Kener noted that The Secret Life of Bees, which won the 2003 SEBA (Southeast Booksellers Association) Fiction Award, is a finalist for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Award in the Paperback category, and is one of the Best of Book Sense From the First Five Years, resonates with young audiences, highly literate readers, as well as less educated adults. He noted, "According to the author herself, she did not write it for young people. But it is a terrific story that sparks positive reactions from everybody."

Kener hopes to forge relationships with regional bookseller associations for presentations of "Bees" and other Literature for Life productions.

For more information about The American Place Theatre, their Literature for Life program, and The Secret Life of Bees' performances, click here. --Nomi Schwartz