Silver Spring Stage presents the deliciously hilarious satire As Bees in Honey Drown by Douglas Carter Beane, directed by Craig Pettinati, about finding the hype of being the hot young thing is not all it's cracked up to be. As Bees in Honey Drown will perform weekends May 15 to June 7.

Silver Spring Stage is located in the Woodmoor Shopping Center, lower level (next to the CVS) at Colesville Road and University Boulevard. Ticket prices range from $13 to $18. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees on May 23 and June 7 at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at www.ssstage.org. Information is also available by calling (301) 593-6036.

A dozen years since As Bees in Honey Drown was an Off Broadway hit, the human foibles of narcissism, greed and revenge remain valid sublime targets for Douglas Carter Beane's satire and comedy. Beane's plays tend to skewer society's natures. He said that his plays examine "the spacious difference between who we are [as people] and who we are expected to be" and that "all man's toil is ultimately folly." He added that the world, our values and society themselves are the leading characters in his work. He's even used his own experience in the unsuccessful effort to bring the Outer Critics Circle award-winning As Bees in Honey Drown to the movies as the basis for his latest hit The Little Dog Laughed. He spares no type or situation from his comic view in As Bees in Honey Drown, to audiences' delight. Ultimately, the play is a seduction of a young writer to the big city, to big personalities and to big fame. We all are drawn to these big lures and sometimes find them shallow or empty. Yet, we can't resist being entertaining all the way.

Evan Wyler (Michael Hammond) is a twenty-something New York writer savoring the success of his debut novel. Defined by the media as the "hot-young" thing-of-the-moment, Evan captures the attention of Alexa Vere de Vere (Lisa Ann Bailey), a black-clad woman of mystery who's made the world of celebrity her home. In fact, it's her religion. Maybe she's a record producer, maybe she's a film agent; what is clear is that she wants Evan to write the screenplay of her life story. Just spend time with me, she says, and you'll learn all you need to know. To Evan, who is gay, it's like an invitation into the world of Auntie Mame, Sally Bowles and Holly Golightly all rolled into one. But once Evan fools himself into believing he loves Alexa, she vanishes, leaving him to foot the bill for all the dinners and Armani suits they've gone through. Trying to find Alexa, Evan discovers a chain of people (played by an ensemble of Allison Galen, Sara Joy Lebowitz, Dani Nolan and Vanessa Terzaghi) who have fallen under her spell and acted as her meal ticket, including her ex-husband Mike Stabinsky (Josh Redford). Evan humiliated and inspired by his experience transfers his emotions into his writing borrowing Alexa's catchphrase "As Bees in Honey Drown" for the title. Audiences will relish and revel in this revealing satirical spoof.

The production team includes Rachel Loose (Assistant Director/Stage Manager), Matt Karner (Set Design), Andrew Scharwath (Light Design), Kevin Garrett (Sound Design), Rachael Feola (Costume Design), Joel Richon (Set Construction), Brian Campbell (Props Design) and Brian Dettling (Fight Choreographer).

The Stage's 2008-2009 "Find Yourself" season concludes with Agatha Christie's mystery The Mousetrap (Jun. 26-July 26). The Stage's 2009-2010 "Appearances Can Be Deceiving!" season opens with the 2009 One Act Festival (Aug. 13-Aug. 30), the poetic The Glass Menagerie (Sept. 11-Oct. 4), the surprising The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (Oct. 30-Nov. 22), the holiday family show The Little Princess (Dec. 4-Dec. 20), the thriller Death and the Maiden (Jan. 15-Feb. 7), the provocative Fat Pig (Feb. 26-Mar. 21), the moving Rabbit Hole (Apr. 16-May 9), the enchanting Pygmalion (June 4-June 27), and the hilarious mystery Die, Mommie, Die! (July 16-Aug. 8)

Silver Spring Stage is grateful for support from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Arts Council.