Bring together an unspecified near-apocalyptic event, six of its survivors and an episode of the TV show “The Simpsons,” and you get the Department of Theater and Dance’s spring production, “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play,” about a post-pandemic society reckoning with loss.
It will be staged, with music, in Yulman Studio Theater May 28-31 at 7:30 p.m. and June 1 at 2 p.m.
Part dark comedy and part social-commentary, it is being directed by Gabriel Thom Pasculli, lecturer of performance/directing.
“Survival is a creative act. In this play, our characters face extreme circumstances, and together they evolve – changing who they are and the stories they tell – in order to find a way forward,” Pasculli said.
“With a contemporary score by Michael Friedman, the characters literally patch together the music from their lives into a kind of sustenance.”
This is the first collaboration between Pasculli and Jin Byun, lecturer of music and director of music performance. They are co-directors of the new musical theater and vocal performance minor.
Written by playwright Anne Washburn in 2012, “Mr. Burns” depicts the evolution of the story and jokes of “Cape Feare,” a Season 5 episode of “The Simpsons,” in the decades after a near-apocalyptic incident.
“‘Mr. Burns’ explores the ways that we use stories to make sense of our lives and how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another,” said Brittney Belz, production manager and costume designer.
“The Simpsons has been such an essential piece of pop culture for my life growing up that it’s almost fate that I’m performing in a play based on it,” said MollyJane Boyle ’26.
Jerome Anderson ’26 called the play “a great mix of reminiscing and commentary on how we seek and find connections in times of great loneliness and trouble.”
Anushka Kaiwar ’25, Ben Neff ’25, Spencer Newman ’25 and Kellye Nguyen ’27 all agree that the play is “unlike anything” they’ve taken part in. And for Kyra Kelly ’27, “This show is amazing for Simpsons fans, but I think it's even better for those like me who have never watched an episode.”
Whether or not audiences are familiar with the Simpsons or its “Cape Feare” episode, “Mr. Burns” “is a large show with an even larger heart,” said Lexi Knowles ’27.
Tickets to the performances are $15 general admission and $5 for senior citizens and those with a Union ID. They can be purchased at the Yulman Theater Box Office Monday through Friday, 1-2 p.m., or online at eventbrite.
The runtime is 100 minutes, and there is a 15-minute intermission. For more information or accommodative seating arrangements, contact boxoffice@union.edu, or call (518) 388-6545.
Note: This production contains themes that may not be suitable for younger audiences.