Mr. Burns @ Playwrights

Did anyone see the first preview? I'm kind of anxious to hear about it. It sounds kind of dull, but kind of interesting?

Hm. Now I'm intrigued. I read an article where they talk about how the first act is just them all sitting around a campfire trying to recall a Simpson's episode. Which, you know, sounds kind of boring.

It ran about 2 and half hours last night, but I imagine that they will shave some time off through previews.

I have to agree with Big Baloney, I felt the entire thing was a chore to sit through and very laborious for the actors - I feel bad they have to perform this 8x a week.

I'll give a description of how the show is structured for those interested, but frankly my facts may not be entirely correct. Having said that, *****SPOILERS******

Pre-show - You'll hear a non-Beyonce version of "Single Ladies", Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from 8 mile, before Britney's "Toxic" leads us into the start of the show.

Act 1 - after an apocalyptic event, a group of survivors sit around a camp fire trying to recollect The Simpsons' "Cape Feare" episode to moderate success. At some point, a stranger joins them and the discussion shifts to comparing notebooks of names of other survivors they've come across to see if the stranger had encountered any of the group members' loved ones, followed by a discussion of the effect of the loss of electricity on nuclear plants and reactors, which have caused further devastation, before the The Simpsons conversation resumes.

Act 2 - :7 years later: The group from Act 1 + 1 new character have become an acting company who perform recollected episodes of The Simpsons + original aspirational commercials geared towards stimulating nostalgia and hope amongst audiences. In one commercial, there's a great emphasis on taking a hot bath, the consumption of food and drink. In another, there's a choreographed mash up of "chart hits" including the songs listed above and several others. The company is also in competition with other groups that are also performing recollected episodes of The Simpsons.

Intermission

Act 3 - :75 years later: The Simpsons' "Cape Feare" episode is recreated with all actors performing as a character from the show, infused with lyrics from the songs listed above. This act is pretty much sung throughout.

I think the piece spoke to what survivors bring to a society that is being rebuilt from their recollections, and the resilience of cultural influences but how those influences ultimately become skewed and altered because the facts aren't accurately preserved.

Essentially, it's like reviving a play but not having the original script and expecting the actors to recreate it through their memories of the source material.

The third act was by far the most visually interesting, yet looked amateurish compared to the first two acts. I think the show was hopeful, but its approach wasn't very effective.

Updated On: 8/24/13 at 03:25 PM

This just sounds like a hot mess. I mean, where's the story? Where's the momentum to keep us, the audience, engaged? Sounds terrible.

What's the design like?

Maybe it's my academic side, but this sounds like it might be INTERESTING more than GOOD.

The subject matter- oral transmission of and reinvention of manufactured culture into folklore- fascinates me. Whether or not it is done well is a different story indeed. I remember an episode of the rather bizarre stoner-cartoon "Superjail" that used to be on, which had a very strange plot in which a future society has mixed bits of its own past with "Watership Down" to create an alternate history for themselves that has, over time, come to be regarded as fact.

I'm a bit confused. Is this a musical or a play? I thought Michael Friedman did the music for this. Sorry if the answer was in the detailed explanation of the show but I don't read things like that.

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I get it. And I too love when a play is more than just 4 people bitching in apartment.

But I also hate plays that think they're being ultra-clever when they aren't. I don't really want to sit through a whole act where people just sing pop songs. I think they did the same thing but better in "God's Ear."

SPOILERS ***** SPOILERS

SPOILERS ***** SPOILERS -- sort of

Two rakes were tantalizingly lying on the left side of the stage (the audience left), and I it looked as though Sideshow Bob was going to do what I'd been waiting for him to do. But.... OK, I can't bring myself spoil it; you'll have to see--if you can manage to sit through 2 hours and 20 minutes of "huh"? And that "Cape Fear" episode of The Simpsons is my all-time favorite. I could imagine the head-scratching going on with those totally unfamiliar with that episode.

My sum-up of the first preview Friday evening: Fascinating concept about pop culture and mythology that basically goes nowhere after what seems like an eternity of repetitive, self-conscious, "aren't I clever" posturing and Greek chorusing. Another annoyance: one major character speaks in such an odd manner as to make it difficult to decipher what he's saying sometimes.

I like that this is a show that's definitely drawn beyond the usual lines. I just didn't like its execution.

Another annoyance: one major character speaks in such an odd manner as to make it difficult to decipher what he's saying sometimes.

I'm guess you're talking about Matthew Maher's character. That's actually how he speaks, he has some kind of speech impediment. I've now seen him in three different shows and it's always difficult to understand all that he says.

I really enjoyed the performance tonight! It's clearly going to be a polarizing show and I can definitely see why someone would hate it. There were many walkouts tonight. That said, I very much enjoyed it and thought the first act was very funny and the second act surprisingly poignant.

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Well, yeah, it's nice for him to get hired... but if you can't understand what he's saying then what's the point? I'm sure there are other actors out there who would have loved the chance.

I just saw this this afternoon and thought it was spectacular. Washburn is such a fresh, unique, and interesting voice and her play is enrapturing. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it definitely makes you think and is incredibly interesting, whether you end up enjoying it or not. See it.

I just saw this this afternoon and thought it was spectacular. Washburn is such a fresh, unique, and interesting voice and her play is enrapturing. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it definitely makes you think and is incredibly interesting, whether you end up enjoying it or not. See it.