Anne Washburn's THE BURNING CAULDRON OF FIERY FIRE @ Vineyard Theatre

[Art Isn’t Easy]

Posted: 11/6/25 at 11:17am

It doesn't look like anyone's posted about this yet but I saw the production last night and can't stop thinking about it. It's a fascinating piece, not perfect, but a thorny, interesting play of ideas. Much like Mr. Burns it's a thematically rich premise that allows for fascinating discussions about morality, ethics, and community but in this case all built on a foundation of hypocrisy; it was so exciting to me to watch the ways in which these characters used mental gymnastics and ideology to avoid cognitive dissonance without breaking a sweat, the only struggle one character has with it is their own ability to lie successfully.

The performances are all excellent, especially Bruce McKenzie, Bartley Booz, Marianne Rendon, and Tom Peckina. Booz was so locked in I actually thought there was an additional actor in the cast that was playing the role he was doubling, and Peckina is such a fascinating, mannered actor with a next-to-none presence; so much of act 2 I just watched him listening. There's a lot to unpack, the cast acts acts as a greek chorus that veers into SNL high school theater show territory (but luckily that lessens up after the first half hour) and there's a Tom Wingfeild-esque narrator that recounts his experience in the community from the perspective of decades years later that provides some truly devastating gut-punches that are almost tossed away.

I wouldn't easily recommend it, I heard two different groups talking during intermission about how boring they found it and the audience as a whole did not seem into it until a performance scene in act 2 (that featured some delightful puppet work) but I do think if you're a fan of Mr. Burns or just want to see something interesting onstage you should check it out!

Updated On: 11/6/25 at 11:17 AM