Mr. Burns, a post-electric play at the Guthrie Theater

The company in Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. Photo by Kevin Berne.

We live in apocalyptic times: permanent droughts in Australia and California (the state from which Mr. Burns, a post-electric play playwright Anne Washburn hails). Ocean acidification, disappearing icecaps, Bangladesh soon to be 60% under water, Pakistan 18%, large Chinese rivers which never reach the sea. The human species will expire, it seems clear (to me, anyway), in 2 or 3 generations.

We are faced with extraordinary challenges, contending with issues human have never before faced. What, in response, does the Guthrie Theater (in collaboration with San Francisco’s venerable American Conservatory Theater) give us? Artsy nonsense about our untoward and unending preoccupation with pop culture. The enduring presence of TV.

In Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, something has happened to the U.S. The play never reveals exactly what. But the results of the “something” are vivid: cities depopulated. Inhabitants engaging in (undefined, thankfully) acts of violence. Electrical plants have gone off-line (and nuclear power plants have melted down, killing anyone unlucky enough to be downwind). Do survivors worry about food? Staying warm in winter? Finding shelter? The children? None of the above: they obsess on The Simpsons.

The Simpsons!

All right. I will confess that I know nothing about this program (for years I thought Jessica Simpson was a cartoon character). Or, indeed, about pop culture in general. I go to plays, I read literate books (right now I’m working on Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway), I watch high quality movies. So I will now turn this review over to my lovely companion, who does have a reverence for pop culture (and knows about this TV program).

John’s Lovely Companion: in Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, characters, at first, try to remember the plots of various Simpsons episodes. Then they reënact commercials (by “buying lines”). Act 3 takes place (supposedly) 75 years in the future. In it, elaborate sets and costumes have been built and a weirdly deconstructed Simpsons episode, featuring the evil Mr. Burns, is played out. Knowledge of this show is necessary to really appreciate Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. If it isn’t part of your life, you must watch 3 or 4 hours of the show.

JO again: I found long stretches of Mr. Burns, a post-electric play static and repetitive. I couldn’t spark any real investment in the TV commercials the actors were trying to reimagine (I tried). I already understand that TV has overwhelming power in our culture. This play isn’t telling me anything new.

Iow, I disliked Mr. Burns. So will many people. This is, imo, healthy. The G isn’t playing it safe, as they so often do. They’re doing daring and risky material. I believe they stumbled this time, but they deserve credit for ballsiness.

Veteran director Mark Rucker and his talented (super-talented; this is the Guthrie) cast do what they can. Only the ever-amazing Jim Lichtscheidl, with his straight forward but beautifully energized stage presence, and Kelsey Venter excel. In Act 3 Ryan Willams Smith plays Mr. Burns (At least I think he does. He’s heavily made up. I could be wrong. I often am) beautifully.

Set designer Ralph Funicello, working with lighter Alexander V. Nichols and costumist Alex Jaeger create some highly tasty scenic effects.

Mr. Burns, a post-electric play plays at the Guthrie through May 10.

John Olive is a writer living in Minneapolis. His book, Tell Me A Story In The Dark, has just been published (by Familius, Inc). For more info about John’s work please visit www.johnolive.net.