Posted: 2/18/18 at 9:34am
I just saw a production of Mr. Burns last night, and it was honestly one of the most amazing nights of theatre I've ever had. The levels of metafiction, the way it looks at pop culture, the spectacle, the scope it covers. I saw it last night, and I still cannot deal with it. Has anyone else seen this show?
Posted: 2/18/18 at 9:56am
Posted: 2/18/18 at 11:40am
The Playwrights Horizons productions was one of the best nights I've ever had in the theater. Glad you also loved it.
Posted: 2/18/18 at 12:57pm
Posted: 2/20/18 at 1:57pm
The Guthrie did a FABULOUS (and I believe it was the debut of this play) production a few years ago. But I think it REALLY confused some of the audience who could not figure out what was going on! It's a real thinker and a great piece. My only concern is that the public's connection to the Simpsons, specifically the episodes they mention in the play (which are already outdated by 15-20 years), will fall out of style sooner rather than later and might make it harder to reach audiences with the intended effect. I would love to interview college freshmen who see this play nowadays and hear what they got out of it.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 2:02pm
I had the misfortune of sitting through it at Playwrights Horizons.
Awful can't even begin to describe it.
If I bothered to make a list of the ten worst shows I've ever seen, this would certainly be a prime candidate.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 2:23pm
I would love to interview college freshmen who see this play nowadays and hear what they got out of it.
I'm a college sophomore, and I loved it. I feel like the episodes of The Simpsons they mention have entered the cultural lexicon enough to not risk being dated.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 2:24pm
After Eight said: "I had the misfortune of sitting through it at Playwrights Horizons.
Awful can't even begin to describe it.
If I bothered to make a list of the ten worst showsI've ever seen, this would certainly be a prime candidate."
I saw this show at a weekend matinee, and it was filled with After Eights, which only made it even more enjoyable... some of them didn't know what The Simpsons was, and got bogged down in that, others were loudly asking their friends "Are you understanding any of this?"
Posted: 2/20/18 at 2:26pm
Perhaps After Eight, who values veneration of the past over forward motion or change, would be happier in the "post-electric" world the play posits.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 2:37pm
Darquegk wrote:
"Perhaps After Eight, who values veneration of the past over forward motion or change, would be happier in the "post-electric" world the play posits."
Heaven forfend.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 4:28pm
I understand. Some folks are too old to get it or get into it. It's a style that doesn't fit into the typical mold of individualistic stories - individual perspectives, etc. - that fit most of our theaters. My partner teaches this play to his grad students and they always become pretty obsessed with it. The idea of telling stories about communities and issues that affect society at large told through the eyes of the community and not through the narrow perspective of one of two individuals is quite appealing to younger generations.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 4:39pm
Theatregoer3 wrote: "I understand. Some folks are too old to get it or get into it."
It has nothing to do with age. Rather it has to do with taste, intelligence, and most importantly, the truth.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 4:48pm
I saw the production at PH and absolutely adored it. It’s a fantastic play and the performances were top-notch too. It’s nice to hear that new productions are going up around the country and that the play is being taught in school. Mr. Burns is easily one of the top 10 best plays of the past decade, if not top 5.
Posted: 2/20/18 at 5:16pm
greensgreens said: "The Guthrie did a FABULOUS (and I believe it was the debut of this play) production a few years ago. But I think it REALLY confused some of the audience who could not figure out what was going on! It's a real thinker and a great piece. My only concern is that the public's connection to the Simpsons, specifically the episodes they mention in the play (which are already outdated by 15-20 years), will fall out of style sooner rather than later and might make itharder to reach audiences with the intended effect. I would love to interview college freshmen who see this play nowadaysand hear what they got out of it."
Loved that Guthrie production, too. I'm not sure what you mean by "debut" but that production had already played at American Conservatory Theater and the play had already been around for several years. I think it may have premiered at Woolly Mammoth?
Posted: 2/20/18 at 6:00pm
Deleting what I wrote because I don't feel right about it. I'll agree to disagree, After Eight!
Updated On: 2/20/18 at 06:00 PM
