Gabby Beans, Carmen M. Herlihy, April Matthis & Taylor Schilling Set for Buzzy Premiere of The Apiary at Second Stage

Tony nomineee Gabby Beans, Carmen M. Herlihy, April Matthis and Orange is the New Black’s Taylor Schilling will star in the world premiere of The Apiary off-Broadway. The new comedy, written by Kate Douglas and directed by Kate Whoriskey, will preview at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theater beginning on January 31, 2024 with opening night set for February 13.

Schilling earned an Emmy nomination for the role of Piper Chapman in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. She most recently starred in the Apple TV+ series Dear Edward. On stage, Schilling starred in the Classic Stage Company production of A Month in the Country. Beans appeared in I’m Revolting, Anatomy of a Suicide and Mary Seacole and garnered a Tony nomination for her role in The Skin of Our Teeth. Her TV credits include Presumed Innocent and Succession. Matthis appeared in The Piano Lesson on Broadway. Her off-Broadway credits include Primary Trust and Toni Stone. Herlihy appeared in The Piano Teacher, Kingdom Come, crooked and Second Stage’s Bachelorette.

The Apiary is set in a not-too-distant future when bees, extinct in the wild, are kept alive in synthetic apiaries. Two lab assistants, Zora and Pilar, hit upon a potentially world-altering discovery: the bees respond well to dead human flesh. All they need are volunteers.

In addition to her playwriting, Douglas is a Master Naturalist and student herbalist, currently working towards her Horticulture Certificate Sustainable Garden Design with the New York Botanical Garden.