Act I, Scene I: Th e Morning and Some of the Bees… Th is is supposed to be a quiet morning, yet that seem to be nearly impossible inside a beehive.

Workers start swarming over the Vedado mansion in Havana. Th ere comes Lupe, then Loudes, while Ingrid and Nenita follow suit… Some of them came over here for the fi rst time as mothers of boys and girls who wanted to play acting.

Now they appear to be top-class offi ce clerks because they’re also producers, producer assistants, director assistants, theater directors… Yoqui, Calle, Andres, Luis Manuel, Callejas also come around… they are either actors or actresses, light designers, stage builders, drivers, managers, and almost always they are the parents of bee-boys or beegirls. None of them asks what to do. Th ere’ll be a rehearsal in the afternoon and then a performance, so everything is crystal clear.

That’s something Anmerix, Gisela and Mayra are fully aware of, so they walk into the dressing room pretty early. If there’s some sewing to do, they’ll sew, and if there’s some investing to do, they’ll do it, too. Mothers and grandmas get together all over again. In La Colmenita it’s all for one and one for all… In the recording studio, Patricia and Janet set up the mikes and the cables.

Little Maria Carla knows her mother is not looking and takes time for a summersault and then she dances the same way she does onstage. She was born nearly behind the scenes and at age 4 she’s already a star actress. Janet and her husband are to blame for this. Tim is Maria Carla’s father, the same father she has to share with thousands of other children in Cuba and all over the world. Act II, Scene II: Ready to Fly Tim Cremata and his mother Iraida Malberti, “the queen bee”, take a peek from behind the door.

They’re plotting something, probably a new musical show because Amaury is coming along with them. “Tim, is it true your brother’s name is exactly like yours?” It’s way past noon… Everything is about to change. We start hearing the buzz, the footsteps, the kids racing up and down the staircases.

The bigger kids arrive. Many still wear their school uniforms and carry their backpacks strapped around their shoulders. Tere gets a move on with the lunch, while Andres, Calle y Odalis pitch her a hand in the kitchen by putting helpings on the motley trays… Little by little, the buzzing bees start shaking the hive.

The quiet and ample offi ce is now a sea of childish voices and smiles. Some of them are having lunch, while others are fl uttering around the backyard or turning the garden into a giant playground. Several mothers jaw it up peacefully. Th e local workers –helped by some of the fathers- pick up everything they need to take to the theater that afternoon.

“Mammy, I want to pee!!”

From somewhere in the distance, the large and white school bus revs up and gets on the move. Kids and adults are picked up along the way. All of them gather at the mansion. “Hey guys, rehearsal will be at 2:00 o’clock.” A few minutes more and La Colmenita is ready to fl y. Act III, Scene III:

The Grand Finale There’s a one-and-only spot in Old Havana, in the heart of the nation’s capital’s historic downtown area, that hasn’t yet been mapped in city tour guidebooks. It’s the Order III Th eater, attached to the Cultural Compound of the St. Francis of Assisi Monastery.

That sounds like a great place, but it’s even greater than that. Let’s tiptoe our way in; the lights are out. Complete silence; the kids are on stage. It’s Cinderella Told By The Beatles. Hush, hush, a mouse is speaking. “It’s the happy end.”

Lights are back on. Yes, it’s the end indeed. Th e Beatles are singing and dancing on the screen, while four mice named Ringo, Paul, George and John shake a leg on the stage.

All kids dance and belt out, both on stage and in the audience. It’s the grand fi nale. Little bees hold posters up and down with the credits on them. Parents clap their hands and sing as well as they silently wipe the tears rolling down their faces.

The curtain comes down… and up again.