In a post-apocalyptic world, survivors spend their days re-enacting scenes from the episode “Cape Feare” of “The Simpsons” in order to diverge their fears of what the world has become.
“Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play,” written by playwright Anne Washburn, uses “The Simpsons” to explore the idea that current pop culture will evolve into myths. The Florida version of the play premiered at the Hippodrome State Theatre on Wednesday and will run through March 15.
The New York Times named “Mr. Burns” one of the top 10 plays of 2013.
Lauren Caldwell, artistic director of the Hippodrome, secured the rights for the play after seeing the following it had created.
“New York City went obsessively nutso over it,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell said the play is a statement on how controversial issues are treated. The characters in the play perform scenes from “The Simpsons” in an effort to hold on to an art form as society attempts to rebuild.
“‘The Simpsons’ is merely a vehicle that is used because of the shows courage in making the cartoons socially relevant to current events in our country,” Caldwell said. “They call it a dark comedy, but I think that the woman has created a new genre of theater.”
The cast includes actors from New York and Atlanta, a UF professor and a current student.
Tickets for the play went on sale last summer. About 30 percent of the tickets available have already been sold, and 30 percent of the audience comes from outside the country, said Jessica Hurov, the Hippodrome’s managing director.
Tickets are available now at the Hippodrome box office. The cost of tickets for the first week is $15 for students and $20 for the general public.
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 2/19/2015 under the headline “The Hipp brings Florida version of ‘Mr. Burns’ to Gainesville"]
(From left to right) Charlie Mitchell, Stephanie Lynge, Matthew Lindsay and Marissa Toogood pose in a photo from the play, “Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play.” The Florida version of the play will be shown at the Hippodrome State Theatre through March 15.
