Upcoming Theatre

Bill Esler

Bill Esler

Shakespeare the dramatist is a genius at the craft of theater, and brings a timeless artistry that is unexcelled. So it was with some trepidation that I took my seat at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre for Idle Muse’s 'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre.'

I can report Shakespeare remains intact, the language there, and the production and performances exploiting the full force of his original. Admittedly I was filled with bias against what might unfold in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s original ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre.’ In a nod to topicality, perhaps - March is Women’s History Month - Idle Muse’s production offers some characters Shakespeare may not have imagined. Avoiding a spoiler here, suffice it to say the arc of the action and the emotive power of Shakespeare are unaffected by these additions and ticket buyers will probably enjoy them.

Director Evan Jackson, who adapted the script, gives us a very strong rendering of ‘Pericles,’ eliciting strong performances and engaging staging, with low-tech storefront creativity in storms and sword fights that assures “the play’s the thing,' and is not overshadowed by the stage mechnics. 

Particularly strong is the performance of Brendan Hutt as Pericles, who moves convincingly through the stages of the prince’s life from venturer to suitor to grieving widower. Hutt brought me near tears with his loss of wife and daughter, and just as readily my heart tracked his transformation to joy when the happy resolution arrives at the end. 

Laura Jones Macknin as Heilicanus owns the stage each time she appears. Watson Swift in three roles (Antiochus, Simonides, and Philomen) is strong in his physical performances, though I could not always understand him as he moved about the stage in his role as the villainous Antiochus. Caty Gordon is exceptionally good as Marina, Pericles' lost and regained daughter. She communicates the essence of a powerful woman through the trials she weathers in the shifting stations of her life.

'Upon This Shore: Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre' runs through April 3 at Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. in Chicago on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Visit idlemuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.

Invictus Theatre delivers the finest acting in Chicago. The current run of Lynn Nottage's 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning play 'Ruined' is no exception.

Originally commissioned by Goodman Theater, where Nottage workshopped it in 2007, 'Ruined' is set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It tells the story of sexual exploitation and abuse of women, where rape of women is a weapon used by warlords in factions battling within the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The action takes place in Mama Nadi's tavern and brothel, where women are fed and protected by Mama Nadi, but in exchange for accepting a controlled exploitation. As Mama Nadi, Tekeisha Yelton Hunter is on stage most of the play, and rules as an actress who is fully immmersed in her role. Please order the Jeff now. 

But most surprising is Courtney Gardner as Salima, a farmer's wife stolen from her garden, and enslaved at an encampment. Largely silent in her early scenes, Nottage teases out ever more of Salima, as she does with all her characters. In this evolution on stage, Gardner goes from quiet and retreating, to bitingly sarcastic, funny, even wise, and delivers the essence of the play's message in a shattering and tragic soliloquoy.  

The production team includes Rueben Echoles, whose costume design was notable, and Kevin Rolfs came up with a set that is practical and functional, and realistic.  

Goodman mounted the world premier of 'Ruined' in its 2008 season, and Nottage's script does not shy from the brutal facts. As an audience, we are spared directly witnessing the suffering and degradation leveled upon these innocent women, carried off and tied down in their abusers encampments. And yet their words, and the power of the acting in this Invictus show, delivers the story viscerally, bringing this reviewer to tears, to cry out in woe, to bury my head in my arms

This is the third play by Lynn Nottage I have seen. 'By the Way, Meet Vera Drake' was a homerun for me; both 'Sweat' and 'Ruined' seem to have a diffuse first act. But the second act in 'Ruined' is incredible, and at curtain, I realized how I was applauding for a dozen fully-formed characters that Nottage had built right there on the stage. She's good. And so is 'Ruined.'  It runs through March 20 at Invictus new home, the Reginald Vaughan Theatre, 1106 W. Thorndale.

The 1993 Bill Murray movie comedy, Groundhog Day,is one of those cult classics with millions of fans. Like ‘The Big Lebowski,' people love it, or don’t quite see the appeal. I fall in the latter class on both films: appreciating the concept, but not with a lot of fervor.

So I was hopeful that the 2017 Broadway musical version would help me get into the story. Indeed, ‘GroundHog Day: The Musical,’ is a tremendous musical production. The story tells of cynical, self-centered TV weatherman Phil Connors who balks at being relentlessly assigned to cover the furry forecaster at the annual Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA. You know, if the groundhog sees his shadow, winter lingers; if not, we get an early spring.

Alex Syiek is exceptionally good as the arrogant weatherman Phil Connors, channeling the flavor of Bill Murray’s version but making it his own. And Phoebe González as Rita Hanson, Phil’s new producer and love interest, is terrific.

The full production team has done a wonderful job, with very creative staging: Jim Corti, director; Megan E. Farley, choreographer; Kory Danielson, music supervisor, music director and conductor; Courtney O’Neill, scenic designer; Jordan Ross, costume designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer.

In its Midwest premier at the beautifully restored Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL through March 13, 'Groundhog Day: The Musical' a remount of the Broadway version that garnered seven Tony nominations. One suspects there is a reason it didn't win any. Frankly, the underlying material is pretty bad, in particular, the music. That would be the underlying material.

As in the film, Connors gets stuck in a time loop, awakened by his alarm each day at 6:00 a.m. to cover Groundhog Day. The musical version explores Connor’s desperation to escape the loop, and how he uses his time - for instance, hitting on every woman in town, and taking piano lessons - always “for the first time.”

But the repetitive nature of the morning 6:00 a.m. alarm seems to be incorporated into the music, yielding what basically sounds like endless variations on a single song for an overly long first act. The soporific effect was counteracted in a shorter second act with two distinct songs, one even memorable. And a Two Brothers coffee available at intermission helped.

It would have been hard to predict when this show was originally planned that Omicron Covid would still bedevil us. And in a sense, we are consigned to our own relentless treadmill of masks and constraints. Perhaps 'Groundhog Day The Musical' was chosen only for its coincidence with the real annual Groundhog Day each February. Infusing our masked treadmill wouood have given it more relevancy.

But I wouldn't write off seeing this show, which is a beautiful production, pretty much perfectly executed. But get yourself a Two Brothers in the lobby when you arrive.

Should a tiger take up residence in your bathroom, Trap Door Theater’s new production presents an entertaining selection of likely scenarios to follow. In a fresh translation of an absurdist play by Polish playwright Sɫawomir Mrożek—Poland’s Ionesco—director Nicole Wiesner turns 'The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey' into a highly entertaining, high energy production that feels as though PT Barnum had decided to produce ‘Cabaret.’

This obscure farce by Mrożek was intended to poke fun at contemporary mores and life in the 20th century in communist-dominated Poland. Mrożek probably penned it as a critique of an overweening government seeking too much control over the individual, constraining freedom. Delivering it straight up as Mrożek would have intended it would risk giving us an artifact of historical interest, but not much fun to watch.

Instead, Wiesner has boiled the message down to its essence, and the forces of conformity seem to be not the government, but social expectations. We see the thoughtful, individualistic Peter Ohey (Dennis Bisto) driven to accept a ridiculous proposition—that his bathroom has a tiger hiding in it—and he is forced into a submission of belief by outside forces.

His son is bribed by self interest into asserting the tiger’s existence by an Official (Carl Wisniewski), and his daughter and wife (Venice Averyheart) accept the story in a rapid group think. Ohey is suddenly alone in rational view, and vulnerable, as the Official, then a Tax Collector (Natara Easter) declare the tiger's presence to be incontrovertible fact.

But it is when the Scientist appears (Keith Surney is magnificent) Peter Ohey has met his match. He soon capitulaes, and is transformed into the tiger, under the Scientist’s lashing whip, in a scintillating leather and fishnet encounter with distinct BDSM overtones. All hope is lost for Ohey. Soon another ominous force appears, The Old Hunter (Bob Wilson) who seems hauntingly reactionary and powerful.

After this the show descends into a circus act under The Circus Manager; Matty Robinson gives an exceptional performance in this role. 

Whatever serious themes this work addresses are unimportant, really. Trap Door has produced a remarkable show, and it is very highly entertaining. It runs through March 3, at Trap Door Theater on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and comes highly recommended.

‘Christmas Dearest’ is wicked good fun, a hilarious if unholy marriage between Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Mommie Dearest, the scathing tell-all book by moviestar Joan Crawford’s abused daughter, Christina. 

The show's creator, Hell in a Handbag Productions, is sui generis, a company whose staged shows tap the rarified sanctums of performance art, driven by our local treasure in drag, David Cerda, who penned book and lyrics and shares music credits with Scott Lamberty for 'Christmas Dearest.' This also marks the troupe's return to live shows, with a remount of a deliciously popular show. (Proof of vaccination is required to attend.)

The premise—a tyrannical Joan Crawford (David Cerda) turns Scrooge as she struggles to reignite her career with a big, splashy 1953 musical about the life of the Blessed Virgin—’Oh Mary!’ —casts Crawford in the lead role, natch. She takes liberties with the script, editing to make sure this Mother of God is not outshown by her miraculous offspring. And of course, she makes sure her millon dollar legs get plenty of exposure, even if that lout Joseph keeps tripping on them in the dance scenes.

There are morals here (it’s Christmas after all) though largely loose ones as practiced by Joan Crawford and her friends over the years. And we do get the requisite conversion to goodness after a series of Dickensian ghosts advises Crawford during a dream triggered by Chinese takeout with Johnny Walker pn the rocks. The sweep of Joan's life includes key players along the way—including a child Crawford (Maiko Terazawa) and 1920s show girl Crawford (Marissa Williams). Mark Barty ably carries the role of her daughter Christina from youngster to embittered adult.  

It's hard to say exactly what separates drag performances, parody, and gender-blind casting. But it is certain that in this show the best scenes involve women characters: Olive LaLake (Tyler Anthony Smith) who plays an actress friend from Crawford's early days; and Bette Davis (Caitlin Jackson) who delivers a pancake make-up, platinum blonde-curled version, vintage “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,' that is a tour de force in rendering Davis's drawling mid-Atlantic stutter, complete with eyerolls and waving cigarette. The scene with the two movie star rivals includes a duet, “Two Old Broads," both catchy and engaging. Davis tells Crawford that while she is a movie star, "I am an actress." We also get this priceless interlude in which Joan appeals to Davis's better nature on the set of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane:"

Crawford: We should work together, Betty; not tear each other apart.”

Davis: Who says we can’t work together and tear each other apart. 

Kudo’s to Smith, cast in several roles, all of them over-the-top, but not too far over  He is a formidable actor and singer. As to David Cerda, the progenitor and driving force of Hell in a Handbag Productions, he gamely navigates amongst the powerhouse cast members. While they occasionally out-sing and out-act him, they never upstage him. Highly recommended for those who prefer their Dickens loaded with glamour and divas, 'Christmas Dearest' runs through December 31 on the Ebenezer Lutheran Auditorium Stage at 1650 W. Foster in Chicago

‘Cinderella’ is a sumptuous visual feast, and a musical delight. Running through January 9, 2022 at Aurora’s beautifully restored Paramount theater, this timeless classic tale has been given a Broadway caliber treatment under the direction of Brenda Didier.

With gorgeous costumes (Theresa Ham) and wonderful original choreography (Tiffany Krause), the show is accompanied by the finely-tuned 14-piece live Paramount Orchestra, delivering magnificent sound under the baton of Kory Danielson.

Most striking is the performance by Mikayla Renfro as Cinderella. Renfro is a truly outstanding vocalist whose opening duet with Prince Christopher (Markcus Blair), “The Sweetest Sounds,” begins unassumingly, then clobbers you with its powerful harmony and inventive counterpoint tempo. No wonder: it was crafted by the masters of American musical theater, Rodgers & Hammerstein, who created the original musical in 1957 for CBS television.

Renfro has star power, with beautiful, expressive delivery across her whole vocal range. I could listen to her forever. Blair is a great tenor, though he didn’t seem to have the volume at the higher ends. In the second act, though, Blair comes on stronger, demonstrating vocal strength across his range.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's version of the tale of the downtrodden orphan—dressed by her fairy godmother, she came late to the ball, enthralled a prince, and left a glass slipper as her calling card—was derived from Cendrillon by French author Charles Perrault. It was the first time a musical was written expressly for relevision, and featured a young new star, Julie Andrews.

While timeless, that 1957 ‘Cinderella’ would look stale today, so this Paramount production follows a hipper, updated movie script produced in 1997 (with Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother). It's fesher and funnier. 

Standout performances include the statuesque Jerica Exum as the Fairy Godmother, who exudes powerful magnetism whenever on stage; Sarah Bockel as the cruel Stepmother, bringing a Bette Midler-esque flair; and Lorenzo Rush, Jr. is excellent as the world-weary royal adjutant, Lionel, who manages the slipper fitting tests on all the women in the village.

You might ask how the magical transformation of a pumpkin into a coach and mice into horses is handled. In this production of ‘Cinderella’ a mix of puppetry and stagecraft does the trick. Puppets play the roles of mice, cat and birds who comfort Cinderella in her misery, and provide entertaining accents at the Paramount production. When at the critical moment Cinderlella gets her gown, and an elegant coach and liverymen appear, you will be delighted. It earned well deserved applause the night I saw the show. 

The Paramount Theater is a beautifully updated entertainment palace from the 1920s, with new seating and state-of-the-art sound system and electronics. Music from the orchestra, sequestered under the stage, is captured, mixed and balanced, then delivered by a finely tuned amplifcation system giving a sound that is superior than a purely acoustical orchestra could offer in this setting. The 'Cinderella' sound and music team includes Sound Designer-Adam Rosenthal, Orchestral Reductions-Macy Schmidt, Audio, Lighting, Media Supervisor-Alex Buholzer, and Electronic Music Designer-Ethan Deppe.

We hope to return to the Paramount for its upcoming big production shows, 'Groundhog Day' and 'Rock of Ages,' as well as the smaller production series that opens in Mach 2022 with four productions, including 'Hand to God' and 'Fun Home' at the Copley Theater across the street. Both theaters are part of a revitalized riverfront entertainment and dining district in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. Learn more at https://www.ParamountAurora.com, or call  (630) 896-6666. 

 

Tracy Letts’ “Bug” beckons audiences back to Steppenwolf live and in-person. This gripping psychological drama tells the story of Agnes (Carry Coon), a drug-addicted, alcoholic waitress marooned in an Oklahoma motel room, consoling herself by staying high, and hanging out with her best friend, R.C. (Jennifer Engstrom), a hard-boiled woman and fellow parrtier.

While COVID-19 forced “Bug” to close mid-way in March 2020, director David Cromer regrouped the original, stellar cast to resume the run, and you will not want to miss this opportunity to see it.

Agnes’s troubles include an abusive ex-husband, Jerry (Steve Key) who soon pays an unwanted visit after being released from prison, looking to pick up where he left off. But Jerry finds someone new in his place: Peter (Namir Smallwood), a drifter who trailed into the room with R.C., and just stayed. Jerry begrudgingly takes off.

Here the story turns. Peter and Agnes rapidly descend into a toxic, co-dependent relationship, spiraling relentlessly downward as Peter shares Agnes's partiality to smoking crack, which they do continuously to an end that will leave you stunned.

The performances by Namir Smallwood as Peter and Carrie Coon as Agnes are breathtakingly good. Smallwood in particular rises to the challenge of convincing us that while he is tethered to reality, it is really somewhat loosely. Coon gives us an Agnes who wavers like a compass needle, pulled to the shifting polarities of the varied players in her life before locking decisevely to Peter.

“Bug” embodies what I consider a signature of Steppenwolf style, if there can be such a thing—allowing for scenes dominated by silent performances, the action on stage amplified by the absence of lines. Such scenes, and the powerful scenic design (Takeshi Kata), builds tension steadily, “keeping us in the dark just enough to continually thirst for its next moment,” as my colleague, Ken Payne noted of the 2020 staging. 

As a post-pandemic show, “Bug” is especially relevant, with drug addiction rising to epidemic levels during these trying times. Letts offers a searingly realistic window into their impact on individuals and relationships. “Bug” captures the paranoia visited upon abusers of stimulants like crack and meth. We even experience the miasma that causes struggling addicts to vehemently resist intervention by their family and friends.aBug runs through December 12, 2021.

Single tickets for Bug ($20 – $110) at steppenwolf.org or 312-335-1650. Discounts include new Artists & Essential Workers discount, expanded 20-for-$20 program, Pay-Your-Age performances, $5 teen tickets through the Teen Arts Pass, and more. Steppenwolf is part of the coalition of over 70 Chicagoland performing arts venues and producers that have agreed upon COVID-19 vaccination and mask requirements for all audiences, artists and staff through the end of 2021. Steppenwolf is offering four reduced capacity performances for “Bug,” seating every other row and one seat on either side of each party: Sunday evening November 21, Wednesday evening November 24 and Wednesday matinees December 1 and 8. www.Steppenwolf.org

It’s hard to cheer and yell with a mask on. But that I did right along with the entire crowd at “Paradise Square,” as Joaquina Kalukango delivered a shatteringly powerful show-stopper, “Let It Burn,” holding the audience in her thrall for every second.

This was the best but not the only great moment in “Paradise Square,” which opened its five-week, pre-Broadway run November 2 at the Nederlander Theater and officially opens November 17. It’s the relatively unknown tale of the Five Points District in New York City, the tough section that is portrayed circa 1846 in “Gangs of New York.”

Set during the Civil War in 1863, “Paradise Square” tells of the Black community of free-born men and women who lived in harmony with Irish immigrants, intermarrying, and singing and dancing together. The score draws on the music of Stephen Foster, who had lived and worked in the Five Points. 

But as the Civil War rages on, the Union declares an unprecedented military draft, affecting only white working men. Blacks were exempted from the draft because they were not  considered citizens. Wealthy people could hire substitutes. The immigrants resisted, and eventually turned on their Black neighbors to vent their rage, leading to the infamous New York Draft Riots of July 1863. This is not glossed over in "Paradise Square" but is the main plot point. 

Kalukango plays the central role of Nelly O’Brien, proprietor of the saloon in which the action takes place. Her Irish immigrant husband is Willy O'Brien (Matt Bogart); her sister-in-law Annie O’Brien (Chilina Kennedy) also works in the saloon, though her husband is a preacher, Reverend Samuel Jacob Lewis (Nathaniel Stampley).

Kalukango is the dramatic anchor throughout the show, but it is her transcendant performance of "Let It Burn" that also serves as the climax of the plot, and its denoument. We’re talking Jennifer-Hudson-in-Dream-Girls calber, perhaps even better. Really!

Other spectacular moments include the performance of A.J. Shively as newly arrived Irish immigrant Owen Duigan. Shively is a sensational singer and dancer. Each time his lilting, filigreed tenor launched into “Why Should I Die in Springtime,” tears welled in my eyes. 

Chilina Kennedy gives us an Annie that is a firebrand and a spark plug. The beauty of her soprano is a perfect complement to Kalukango’s powerful mezzo-soprano. When the two sing a duet, it is sublime.

But this is even more a show about dance. Featuring choreography by Bill T. Jones, it shows off many dance styles, emphasizing Irish step-dancing and Black American Juba, as well as tap dancing, believed to have originated in Five Points. Jones’s choreography greets us as soon as the curtain rises in an opening scene in which the preacher blesses departing soldiers, two wraiths do what might be described as a liturgical dance.

Jones also crafts the visual representations of the Underground Railroad, which in this show is given parity with Ellis Island as a point of entry for Black immigrants from the South. "Paradise Square" breaks new ground in its full embrace of the Black journey as a part of all of our stories in the formation of America.

Produced by Garth Drabinsky, “Paradise Square” is directed by Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman and a book by Christina Anderson Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan. The production features the “re-imagined” songs of Stephen Foster and original compositions, with a score by Jason Howland, Nathan Tyson, Masi Asare, and Kirwan.

There are some weaknesses in "Paradise Square." As might be expected with four hands scripting and five composers involved, we have a story that is everything and the kitchen sink, plus music and dance. The music is continuous and at times, soaring. But much of it is undistinguished. The second half is refreshingly direct, and regardless of its shortcomings, "Paradise Square" is not to be missed. 

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  
Paradise Square is part of theBroadway in Chicago subscription which launched in August. Individual tickets for Paradise Square are at www.BroadwayInChicago.com
 
All Broadway In Chicago schedules and productions will continue to be reviewed as further guidance and recommendations are provided by the CDC, State of Illinois, and Chicago Departments of Health. Currently that means proof of vaccination must be provided to gain entry, and a mask must be worn throughout. For the latest health and safety procedures and guidelines visit BroadwayInChicago.com/COVID19.

The Artistic Home chose a sure-fire winner for its return to in-person productions, with a creative staging and knock-out cast in Eurydice by celebrated playwright Sarah Ruhl. The "press night" show October 28 at the Den Theatre found a well-oiled machine delivering flawless performances. The joy of sitting in a sold-out room was soon surpassed by the show itself.

Distilled from a range of Greek and Roman myths, Eurydice recounts the story of Orpheus, the renowned demigod musician—his playing could draw tears from the stones—who descends into hell to lead his young bride Eurydice back to life. She was killed prematurely, and so the lord of hell permits her to leave—but Orpheus must not look back before they reach the surface, or she will be lost to him. When he reaches the surface, Orpheus does look back, losing Eurydice, who hasn't fully emerged. Most retellings focus on his tragic loss.

Ruhl’s 2003 play resets the story, taking the perspective of Eurydice. Played by Karla Corona, this Eurydice is a captivating character, a reader and thinker, a modern young woman immersed in self-discovery. Corona gives us an endearing innocent but strong Eurydice, magnetic. She has fallen in love with Orpheus, but he is even more in love with her. Bored at her own wedding reception, Eurydice strays and meets her early end, triggering Orpheus quest to bring her back. 

But in the underworld, Eurydice has an enveloping experience vastly more intriguing than Orpheus efforts, and she eventually meets her father (Javier Carmona). The play centers largely on the immense and unshakable love between Eurydice's father and his daughter. (Ruhl dedicated the play to her own father.)

Carmona gives us a surpassingly good performance. Before his daugher arrives, he is following her wedding from below, and by a simple shift in his expression goes from joy to sorrow, and back again, as he suffers the lost opportunity to give the bride away. When they are later brought together, he nurtures Eurydice and comforts her in his new home.

"Rock-star" performances are given by the incredibly entertaining and mean-spirited Chorus of Stones: Will Casey as Big Stone, Alexander McRae as Loud Stone, and Ariana Lopez as Little Stone. And as real standout is Todd Wojcik (above), arguably the best performance of the night, as “Nasty Interesting Man.” Wojicik gives us an almost indescribable package of self-infatuation, malice and brattiness, that alone is worth the price of admission. 

The production team includes Kevin Hagan (Scenic and Lighting Design), Zachery Wagner (Costume Design), Petter Wahlback (Sound Design), Randy Rozler (Properties Design), Julian Hester (Assistant Director), and Jac Pytlik (Stage Manager).

Eurydice had its world premiere at Madison Repertory Theatre, Madison, WI in 2003, and following high profile productions at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre, it opened off Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in 2007 and at the Young Vic in London in 2010. Artistic Home's production will be performed at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, Thursdays through Sundays, November 4 through November 21, 2021. 

 

 

 

Theater Wit has mounted an unexpectedly spellbinding show for its return to live productions: Anne Washburn’s “Mr. Burns, a post-electric play.”

What an amazing fever-dream has flowed from Washburn’s imaginative pen, brought to life at Theater Wit. Originally mounted in 2015, it is clear why this was one of the troupe’s most popular productions. It is a joy-filled moment to be back in the audience before a live show. 

Ostensibly, it is a portrait of a post-apocalyptic society in which people huddle around campfires on a darkened landscape, recalling favorite lines from television shows. Act 1 focuses on this means of diversion. Quickly the fragility of cultural memory becomes apparent, when there are no Google or YouTube to reference.

Seven years later, Act 2 opens with rehearsal for a semi-professional performance company, many of which have arisen, working against scripts gathered from memory (some recalled lines and scenes are even purchased from freelance contributors). Sets and costumes are cobbled together from the detritus of the decaying society.

Here “Mr. Burns” is revealed to be a true backstage play, with the players jousting over who will be featured and which bits shall be included in the show. There are humor and charm in these scenes, which feature live performances of clips of the Simpsons and other popular shows, as well as contemporary ads and music videos.

It is in Act 3 that the show reaches its apotheosis, we are transported to Elysium, and the performance becomes the food of the gods. Set 70 years later, the collective memory of the Simpsons has certainly faded, and those who saw the show on television are very few in number.

Washburn now gives us a heavenly reverie on how theater might be recreated from the dust of the cataclysm. As with cultures of old, an oral tradition was handed down before writing took hold. “Mr. Burns” seems to posit just such a scenario, with a beatifically staged battle between the forces of good - the Simpsons - and evil: Mr. Burns and his henchmen, Itchy and Scratchy. Fans of The Simpsons, who are legion, will recall that Mr. Burns owned the nuclear power plant at which Homer Simpson was employed, until sometime befoe this story picks up.  

A mashup of Greek drama, kabuki, and 18th century operetta, this final act defies description, except to say it is transportative. Aside from its intimate scale, “Mr. Burns - A post-electric play” is fully Broadway caliber, and the performances by every cast member are superlative. Daniel Desmarais, Andrew Jessop, and Leslie Ann Sheppard return from the 2015 production, with Eileen Doan, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Ana Silva, Jonah D. Winston and Will Wilhelm are making their Theater Wit debut. 

Everyone (including audience members) at Theater Wit is required to be vaccinated to enter the building. (Negative results from a PCR test for COVID-19 administered in the last 48 hours is an alternative.) All patrons must remain masked for the duration of their visit. Find more details and ticket information at www.TheaterWit.org.

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