Douglas Carter Beane's As Bees in Honey Drown begins its West Coast premiere at Mountain View's Center for the Performing Arts' Second Stage Theatre July 28. Bees runs through Oct. 3. Danny Scheie (The Last Hairdresser) directs. Beane's 1997 comedy follows the rise of young gay novelist Evan Wyler who, after publishing his first book and posing with his shirt off in a trendy magazine, is "discovered" by femme fatale and self-described producer, Alexa Vere de Vere. She contrives her way into his bank account and bed, promising success in exchange for a screenplay of her life...then disappears. Other plays by Beane, a founder of New York's Drama Dept., include Country Club, Advice From a Caterpillar and the book to the upcoming musical, The Big Time.

Rebecca Dines and Michael DeGood star as Vere de Vere and Wyler, respectively. Also in the cast are Jackson Davis, Doug Holsclaw, Alexis Lezin and ej Ndeto.

Tickets are $35-$27 and are available by calling (650) 903-6000. TheatreWorks is on the web at http://www.theatreworks.org.

-- By Christine Ehren