Cappies Review: 'Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play' At McLean HS

By Liam Birch of South Lakes High School

McLean High School's production of "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play" was an absolute apocalyptic hit that left the audience in awe and amazed by the spectacular performance.

The play, written by Anne Washburn and directed by Phillip Reid, blew the audience away with its breathtaking and suspenseful scenes that kept the audience on the edge of their seats the whole evening. "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play" first premiered in Washington, D.C. at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in May 2012. The play then went on to be performed in New York City off-Broadway in August 2013, where it was nominated for a Drama League Award for an outstanding Broadway or off-Broadway production.

The story of "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play" follows a group of people who are the survivors of an apocalypse. To pass time and cope with trauma, they start to recreate different episodes of The Simpsons, specifically the episode Cape Feare.

Over time, the survivors band together to create a traveling theater troupe who reenact the episodes. But the performances of the episodes become more and more extravagant and different from the originals. Seventy-five years later and The Simpsons has turned into a full-blown Greek tragedy set to dramatic music.

Nathan Bass, who played the character Matt, was able to showcase a wide acting range in many scenes by often playing a fun, energetic character who would easily become anxious in stressful situations. Bass also impersonated many characters from The Simpsons, and through physicality and vocal techniques, he parodied the characters from the show extremely well.

Samantha Carey, who played Jenny, had flawless character development. No matter the scene, Carey would emote very powerful feelings. Even if silent, Carey would react to both scene partners and the events of the story. Jackie House, who played Mr. Burns, used exaggerated movements and over-the-top gestures in order to display the evilness of Mr. Burns. House had a villainous evil voice with an equally evil laugh.

The sets for "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play," designed and built by Andrew Von Elm and Timo Brown, created the perfect atmosphere for an apocalyptic setting. Not only was the set incredible, but the set for the third act was also built onto what would traditionally be the house of the theater, where the audience traditionally sits. But this was written and staged anything but traditionally, so like the other two acts, the audience sat on the actual stage. In this final act, when the grand curtain opened, an entire apocalyptic world throughout the house was revealed.

The props team of Ava Stewart, Ian Massida and Damaris Roque designed and embedded so many spectacularly realistic props; they also created personalized face masks for almost every character in the third act.

Valentina Sedan, Emery Graninger, Grace MacCracken, and Maia Le did a wonderful job with the makeup as they further enhanced the post-apocalyptic themes of the show. They gave almost all the characters very realistic scars, which added to the post-apocalyptic setting. The hard work, attention to detail and creativity of all these designers truly created an original and immersive experience for audiences that was like none other.

The whole company of "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play" worked together extremely well, and their cohesiveness made for an excellent and thrilling production.