Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play – Location, Tickets, Reviews
There is strong early buzz for The Civilians’ Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play at Playwrights Horizons later this summer. This show had an impressive debut in Washington D.C. last year, earning great reviews and spots on a few end of year “best of” lists, see here and here.
Mr. Burns is set in a post-apocalyptic future. It re-tells the story of an episode of The Simpsons, multiple times. With each telling the story morphs, influenced by the people and context in which it is told.
It was written by Anne Washburn (The Internationalist and A Devil at Noon) with music by Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Love’s Labour’s Lost, part of this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park) and will be directed by Steve Crosson (founding Artistic Director of The Civilians).
The Civilians produced a very interesting podcast about the creative process behind this show, access it here.
UPDATE, September 16, 2013
Mr. Burns opened yesterday to off the chart reviews from the New York Times, New York Post, and Time Out New York, all linked to below. Ben Brantley in the New York Times called it “brilliant” and Elizabeth Vincentelli said it is “even better than its hype” in the New York Post.
Recommended if. . .
- You want to see a show that is sure to be on many Top 10 lists for 2013;
- You like The Simpsons or don’t, it doesn’t matter;
- You like the actor Matthew Maher (The Flick at Playwrights Horizons and Uncle Vanya at Soho Rep);
- You like the actress Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Neva at The Public Theater and Far From Heaven at Playwrights Horizons)
- You like exploring dystopian themes; OR
- You like theater about art and pop culture.
LOCATION
Playwrights Horizons
416 West 42nd Street
RUNNING TIME
2 hours, 15 minutes including one intermission
TICKETS
Starting at $70 (click for tickets)
DATES
Extended to October 20th
NEWS & REVIEWS
AndrewAndrew
Video review
The Hollywood Reporter
This thematically ambitious and bizarre exploration into the nature of storytelling is only sporadically effective.
New York Post
Play uses ‘The Simpsons’ to tell of life in dystopian future
NY Theater by Jonathan Mandell
The Simpsons on Stage After the Apocalypse
New York Times
Stand Up, Survivors; Homer Is With You
TheaterMania
The Simpsons holds a place in the canon of high art in Anne Washburn’s endlessly fascinating vision of a post-apocalyptic future.
Theater Pizzazz
If American civilization disintegrates in a nuclear holocaust, what will remain? According to playwright Anne Washburn, scraps of pop culture will survive and be reformed into kitschy entertainment, the underlying theme of humanity triumphing over its own destruction.
Time Out New York
The impeccable Playwrights Horizons production—staged with steely grace by Steve Cosson and acted by a terrific ensemble—does the improbable: It makes the end of civilization seem like the perfect time to create glowing objects of wonder and beauty.
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Anne Washburn
Music by Michael Friedman
Directed by Steve Cosson
Featuring Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Susannah Flood, Gibson Frazier, Matthew Maher, Nedra McClyde, Jennifer R. Morris, Colleen Werthmann, Sam Breslin Wright