Audio By Carbonatix
In a post-apocalyptic world, what remains from the past as a new culture begins to form among the survivors? That’s the question answered in Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, a gently hilarious look at a world obsessed with Britney Spears and The Simpsons. Amanda Berg Wilson of Boulder’s Catamounts says it’s a play that feels tailor-made for the adventurous theater company. Find out for yourself when Mr. Burns opens tonight at 8 p.m. at the Dairy Center for the Arts.
“It’s basically set in the near future, where some kind of virus has killed most of the people,” Wilson says. “We see a group of survivors sitting around the fire recounting the Cape Fear episode of The Simpsons. By the second act, the same group of survivors becomes a theater troupe that travels around reenacting Simpsons episodes.” Kneeling at the altar of Bart Simpson and other lost pop heroes is how people entertain themselves in an electricity-free world devoid of television and other mass media.
“It functions as a metaphor in a really fun way, just taking itself seriously enough to imply its gravitas — without the audience being lectured to,” Wilson adds. “If you are an aficionado of The Simpsons, you will love it. It’s really an homage to that show’s cultural longevity. But it also still functions with only cursory knowledge — there’s so much to to take away from it that transcends appreciation of The Simpsons.”
Mr. Burns runs through October 18 at the Dairy, 2590 Walnut Street in Boulder; special performances on October 4, 11 and 18 include a community meal after the show, while other evenings include a pre-show cocktail. For details and tickets, $12 to $35, visit tickets.thedairy.org.
Fri., Oct. 3, 8 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 4, 7 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 10, 8 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 11, 7 p.m.; Mon., Oct. 13, 8 p.m.; Thu., Oct. 16, 8 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 17, 8 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 18, 7 p.m., 2014
