by Riva Jain, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Candlelight illuminates a chilly room that is plastered with missing persons posters and graffiti. An emergency broadcast flickers to life on a weathered piece of draped canvas. Eerie warnings of nuclear disaster intersperse between clips of The Simpsons. This is all before audiences are led to the stage to spectate Theater McLean’s production of “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play.”
The show, which premiered in 2012 at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington D.C., explores how stories affect the people who create and consume them, and how culture changes over time, specifically in a post-apocalyptic world. Set in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear fallout, the narrative follows. Through different recreations of the popular television series The Simpsons, the play explores how the survivors build a new society.
The gripping interplay in which cast members built with each other added realism to the outlandish scenes of the show. Whether jumping off each other’s sentences in the first act or moving and harmonizing with electrifying synchronicity throughout the third act, every ensemble member showed a skillful connection with one another that made every moment extremely believable.
Nathan Bass’s Matt drew focus with bold, energetic movement that reflected the role’s dynamic tone. Showing off Matt’s storyteller personality, Bass sprung up in the light of a campfire to retell a particular Simpsons moment and brought out a Homer Simpson impression as raspy-voiced and absent-minded as the character himself. Despite the energetic nature of the role, Bass shone in quiet, more serious moments as well, such as in the fallout of a fight between Quincy (Aashna Kapur) and Maria (Michaela Pearce), where Bass stared at Kapur’s Quincy with a reproachful, guilty gaze.
A grounded contrast to Bass’s vibrant portrayal of Matt, Aldo Silva-Suarez embodied the role of Sam with a sense of surety and confidence. Silva-Suarez cocked crossbows and ordered survivors to stand back when danger approached. However, Silva-Suarez also brought an easy charisma to the role during more relaxed, familial moments, especially in the second act of the show.
Scrambling in through a trapdoor to steal the third act of the play was Jackie House in the role of Mr. Burns. With a sinister, ominous energy that conjured a real sense of danger, House maintained the cartoonish nature of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. House villainously leaned into characters’ faces to create a sense of intense unsettlement, including for the audience.
A series of technical elements served to elevate the show. The hair and makeup, designed by Maia Le, Valentina Sedan, Emery Graninger, and Grace MacCracken, included a series of purple-and-red burns sporting a grisly texture and inflamed shine. The severity of the burns on each character increased as time went on, serving as a constant reminder of the aftereffects of the nuclear disaster the show centers around. Andrew Von Elm, Timo Brown, Cassie Bessette, and Leah Sexton’s set design added a level of immersion to the show. The seating for the show included church pews brought in from Maryland, extending the world of the play out into the audience. The stage was covered in dry leaves during forest scenes, giving the set authenticity. In the third act, the set design team put together a grandiose landscape to match the tone of the act, constructing a larger-than-life boat and several gracefully fabricated columns.
Combining thoughtful technical work with heartfelt emotions in the performances, McLean’s earnest commitment to “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play” made for an unforgettable show.
