Douglas Carter Beane's As Bees in Honey Drown will begin a run Florida's Hippodrome Theatre in Gainesville, FL, Sept. 3-26.

Jim Morgan, artistic director of NYC's York Theatre Company, will direct and design Bees. Morgan is known in NYC primarily for his designs, which include: No Way to Treat a Lady, The Show Goes On, the York Sweeney Todd, Anna Karenina and others.

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.

Nell Page Sexton and Timothy Altmyer star as Vere de Vere and Wyler, respectively. Also in the cast are Cameron Francis, Neal Utterback, Tiffany Yates, and Sara Morsey. For tickets or more information, call (352) 375-HIPP.

-- By Sean McGrath