The University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre unfurls its second offering of the season with the dark, musical, genre-defying “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” by Anne Washburn with music by Michael Friedman.

In the play, civilization has collapsed. A small group of survivors, gathered around a campfire and desperate for connection, piece together the plot of the “Cape Feare” episode from The Simpsons from memory. Seven years later, re-creations of pop culture become the live entertainment of a post-apocalyptic society. Seventy-five years later, these are the myths and legends from which performance is created. In this darkly funny play with music, society has been destroyed but the human spirit lives on, seeking truth in a post-digital world. Pop culture has become ritual and the mythic hero of the future just may be Bart Simpson.

For director Stephen Legawiec, the play doesn’t fit in a tidy box, which makes it truly worth experiencing.

“Mr. Burns is a play of contradictions,” he said. “The Simpsons characters feature prominently in the play, but it’s not a comedy. Almost half of the play is sung, but it’s not a musical. There is much death in the play but I wouldn’t call it a drama either. This interplay of conflicting elements makes the play extremely rich.”

To tell the story well, the play demands much from USM Theatre students. Legawiec said. “There are many different theatrical styles in the play. The actors had to learn operatic music, pop music, choreography, mask technique, and stage combat. Mr. Burns is a play in three acts, and each act requires a different acting style. I don’t know of another play like that. It gives the students a chance to exercise a different part of their creativity throughout the play. And it’s fun for them.”

“Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” features USM Theatre students Ciara Neidlinger, Juliet Moniz, Garrett Lynn, Hannah Smith, Jacob Burklund, Lucious Finston-Fox, and Noam Osher with Cassandra LaPanne, Logan Keanne, and Michael Brown as understudies.

The design team includes Stephen Legawiec (director), Andy Johns (technical director), Remy Dickenson (lighting designer), Shaughnessey Gower (costume designer), Kevin Hutchins (costume director), German Cardenas (scenic designer), Ryan Kohnert (sound designer), and Bailey Baldwin (stage manager).

“Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” runs Nov. 12 through Nov. 20 in rotation with “The Thanksgiving Play”, which runs Nov. 3 through Nov. 19. All performances take place on the USM Gorham campus in historic Russell Hall.

Ticket prices are: $16 for adults, $12 for seniors, USM employees and alumni and $8 for students/youth. Performances are: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12, 13, 17 and 19, 10 a.m. Nov. 18 and 2 p.m. Nov.  20

Content advisory: This show contains profanity and gun violence. Appropriate for ages 12 and up. To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit USM Theatre online at usm.maine.edu/theatre, or call the USM Theatre Box Office at (207) 780-5151.

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program, contact Janice Gardner at (207)780-5289 or janice.gardner@maine.edu. Hearing impaired: call USM’s telex / TDD number (207)780-5646

USM Theatre students rehearse ‘Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play.’ Courtesy photo/Bailey Baldwin.

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