Most of us are probably at least vaguely aware of the issue of bee colony collapse—and how the problem extends way beyond the bees to human survival, as well. You can take that knowledge as a starting point for watching Kate Douglas’ play The Apiary, now onstage at Urbanite Theatre.

In The Apiary, the time is 22 years in the future, and the setting is a lab called Kalop. (The white-walled medical lab-like entryway to the theater is a clever scenic touch by designer Jeff Weber). It’s a smallish operation, where harried manager Gwen (Ariel Blue) is always dealing with the numbers guys “upstairs,” and cheerful, naïve Pilar (Christine Mei Chen) tends to a few struggling beehives with hopeful affection. Enter new hire Zora (Dekyi Ronge), who arrives with a Ph.D. and a bit of a mystery as to why she left her previous job at a bigger company.

Zora’s more aggressive about saving the bees, bringing in fake flowers to encourage pollination (a failure), before an, ahem, incident in the workplace (I won’t give away what exactly) seems to give the bees, including the breeding queen, new life. But how can the three workers take advantage of this example purposefully? An idea involving human volunteers who all have cancer provides hope—but also crosses more ethical lines than you can shake a lab clipboard at.

This setup could, I suppose, provoke a thoughtful discussion of life and death issues, and The Apiary does touch on what makes a good death and how humans interact with the natural world and other species. But playwright Douglas mostly goes for humor in the scenario, and there is fun in watching the characters take one slippery step after another as they become more fervent about their goals.

The cast is all in, with Blue convincingly upping her desperation to satisfy the unseen bosses at the lab, Ronge persuasive as a scientist willing to throw away principles for a cause, and Chen, towards the end, touching in just how far she’ll go. Meanwhile, Terri Weagant does a good job of differentiating four separate characters; in a brief bit as one self-absorbed volunteer, she’s devastatingly funny.

Director Summer Wallace keeps the action moving pretty swiftly, and some stage effects involving buzzing, lights and, well, let’s say convulsions draw us in. Ultimately, The Apiary doesn’t quite live up to what are probably its aims; the script feels sketched in at times. But it’s an entertaining enough 85 minutes of a story that brings to mind Little Shop of Horrors.

The Apiary continues through April 19. For tickets, call (941) 321-1397 or visit urbanitetheatre.com.