By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
In the year 2025, cast members hit the gas straight for Oklahoma.
No one in the Historic Y theater just off North Fourth Avenue said anything, but the irony was palpable. As news reports from the real world poured in about the American/British/French bombing of Russia's staunch ally Syria, the Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre Company was presenting a play set in 2018 that begins with a nuclear attack on the United States that has obliterated the nation's electric power grid.
Playwright Anne Washburn has fearlessly imagined a satirical comedy response to a dystopian world where everything we value has changed, literally overnight. Yet, all the human survivors have the same short-sighted and often selfish personalities they had before the big one was dropped.
Recovery will not be easy. Washburn makes the situation manageable by keeping everything metaphorical. In Act One the people are lost. In the next act, set seven years later, the people are struggling to rebuild what they can remember. Then by the third act, set in 2100, the new world has the same heroes and villains as the old world – only with a twist.
Boasting all the eagerness of a new generation full of desire to do better, the S&S cast led by director Claire Marie Mannle has brought forth an astounding production of “Mr. Burns – A Post-Electric Play” that is both provocative and hilarious.
“Post-electric” are the key words here as all knowledge stored electronically was instantly lost when the power grid collapsed.
“Mr. Burns” refers to “The Simpsons” iconic TV series where Mr. Burns owns the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
As a dazed and numbed nation tries to figure out the most important ideas to remember and preserve, a random collection of seven survivors are camped around a fire in an old washtub on the S&S stage, trying to remember a specific classic “Simpsons” episode that satirized both movie versions of “Cape Fear,” plus a dash of “The Night of the Hunter” that also featured Robert Mitchum, this time as the criminal preacher who had “hate” tattooed on one fist and “love” tattooed on the other.
The play's structure lends itself to a variety of interpretations. Feel free to let your mind stretch out. There is an audience and cast discussion after every performance. See how your ideas stack up against the crowd.
A key element in the story is that all knowledge seems to have been lost. Social values are now taken from popular TV shows because that's what people remember most. Only, their memories are uneven. For example, when there are competing version of the same line Bart might say, who gets to decide which version to use? Probably the most powerful person in the room.
It's not exactly like editing the New Testament, but...maybe it is.
This is an ensemble performance from top to bottom, without any leading roles. Although, during the first act Adam Denoyer has a more prominent part and in Act Two Leah Taylor's scene nearly becomes a show-stopper.
Also cast are Gabriella De Brequet, Sean Patrick, Julia Balestracci, Lance Guzman and Jeanne Torres.
"Mr. Burns, a post-electric play" runs through April 22, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, in the Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Tickets are $28, with substantial discounts available. For details and reservations, 448-3300, or visit scoundrelandscamp.org
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