| THEATER
a play by
Bee tells the fascinating story of an Asian-American man, who is invisible, and an African-American woman, who is the only person who can see him. In their search for a cure, they explode contemporary views of race, class, gender, and friendship. Part comedy, part drama, part parable—Bee is an exciting play that dares to see the world in more than black and yellow.
"A brainy, sassy, refreshing amalgam of kitsch and sociology. Gomolvilas conjures up the best kind of ambiguity, the kind that makes you think, makes you question the world around you and your place in it. There's no doubt that Gomolvilas has emerged as a playwright with a stinger."
"The playwright's new work certainly casts wide and bravely its apiarian net. After all, how many playwrights today are digging deep into the festering wounds of racial resentment, which here is not played out in the usual black-white scenarios, but which gains power from its unexpected perspective. Bee is a good showcase for Gomolvilas's strengths as a writer, as he gets ample opportunity to display his sly wit and an ear for bracing dialogue."
"Quirky and funny."
"Gomolvilas is an activist playwright. The genius of his work is the balance he is able to maintain between substance and humor. The end result is that you will leave a Gomolvilas play, especially this one, having had a number of good laughs and a lot to seriously talk about, too."
"Bee is a barbed parable about bias in contemporary America, a cerebral comedy suggesting that if human beings try hard enough, they can transform an angry, alienated world into a better place. The play examines red-hot racial, gender, generational, and economic issues."
1 Asian-American male
(Note: The play can be performed with more actors if some roles are not double cast.)
1999 Commissioned by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in San Francisco, California
1999 Gerbode Foundation New Play Production Award
2000 First draft written
2001 World premiere production by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in San Francisco, California, directed by Arturo Catricala and featuring Jaxy Boyd, Ginger Eckert, Randall Miller, and Robert Wu
2002 Staged reading by Asian Stories in America (ASIA) Theatre at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., directed by Edu. Bernardino and featuring Bill Aitken, Joey Cabrera, Debbie Jackson, and Suzanne Richard
2003 East Coast premiere production by Asian Stories in America (ASIA) Theatre at Theatre on the Run in Arlington, Virginia, directed by Edu. Bernardino and featuring Debbie Jackson, Steve Lee, Rosemary Regan, and Lonny D. Smith
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