Secret Life of Bees Musical, with Book by Lynn Nottage & Music by Duncan Sheik, to Receive Workshop

Sweat Pulitzer winner Lynn Nottage will pen the book, Tony winner Duncan Sheik will write the music and Tony nominee Susan Birkenhead will write lyrics for a musical version based on Sue Monk Kidd’s novel and the 2008 film The Secret Life of Bees, directed by Tony winner Sam Gold, as part of the Vassar Powerhouse summer season. The workshop of the new musical will take place July 27-29. The Secret Life of Bees takes place in 1964 South Carolina and focuses on 14-year-old Lily Owens, a girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother.

Vassar Powerhouse, the breeding ground for Pulitzer winners Hamilton and The Humans, and 2017 Pulitzer finalists A 24-Decade History of Popular Music and The Wolves, will also present the new musical Stilyagi, based on the Russian movie musical The Hipsters. The tuner, featuring music by Peter Lerman and lyrics by Tony winner Lisa Kron and direction by Michael Mayer, will be presented June 23-25.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch collaborators Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz will pen the music and lyrics for This Ain’t No Disco, a new musical with a book by Rick Elice, taking place in New York nightclubs in 1979. Trip Cullman directs the work that will run June 30-July 2.

Josh Radnor’s new comedy Sacred Valley, which focuses partly on hallucinogens, will receive a full staging June 29-July 9. Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller directs. The work was featured in a reading at Vassar in 2016.

Kevin Armento’s Good Men Wanted, about female fighters in the Civil War, will run July 20-30, also in a full staging. Jaki Bradley directs with Ani Taj as choreographer.