In the wake of a global catastrophe, how would we reinvent culture and entertainment in a post-apocalyptic world? Naugatuck Valley Community College’s Stage Society is planning a show that answers this question in their presentation of Anne Washburn’s award-winning dark comedy, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, directed by NVCC Theater Instructor, Sasha Bratt.
Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play illustrates a post-apocalyptic future, in which there is a complete loss of electricity, limited resources, and the survivors are left to recreate a new sense of culture and produce their own entertainment. Over the course of three acts, playwright Anne Washburn follows a group of characters shortly after a global catastrophe, seven years later, and finally, seventy-five years later. The group recreates classic episodes from The Simpsons as they attempt to rebuild a relevant culture in a civilization deteriorated. In the first act, the characters work together to recall the plot and details of the episode “Camp Feare,” while sitting around a campfire in the woods. Act two fast forwards to seven years later; the same group has created a theater troupe, which competes with another theater company also producing adaptations of The Simpsons. The competing company also reenacts episodes of The Simpsons, complete with commercials from the early-2000s era. By act three, seventy-five years have passed since the last act, and producing adaptations of The Simpsons has become a high art form, where characters dramatically speak and sing poetic lines, contrastingly different from The Simpsons we know today.
The cost per ticket is $10. Tickets can be purchased at the door or can be reserved at the Box Office by calling (203)575-8193.