Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play

by Anne Washburn
Score by Michael Friedman
Lyrics by Anne Washburn

November 7 – 23, 2025

Anne Washburn’s imaginative dark comedy – a play with music featuring songs by Washburn and Michael Friedman – propels us forward nearly a century, following a new civilization stumbling into its future.

After the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors share a campfire and begin to piece together the plot of The Simpsons episode “Cape Feare” entirely from memory. Seven years later, this and other snippets of pop culture (sitcom plots, commercials, jingles and pop songs) have become the live entertainment of a post-apocalyptic society, sincerely trying to hold onto its past. Seventy-five years later, these are the myths and legends from which new forms of performance are created.

A paean to live theater, and the resilience of Bart Simpson through the ages, Mr. Burns is an animated exploration of how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another.

Director: Illya deTorres
Choreographer: Corinn deTorres
Music Director: James Liptak
Stage Manager: Amanda Healy
Lighting Designer: Dug Martell
Costume Designer: MK Hobson

Cast:

Bonnie Auguston
Cristian Villaquiran
Illya deTorres
Jessica Curtiss
Magnolia Brown
Matt Sunderland
Mishelle Apalategui