Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play
By Anne Washburn
Score by Michael Friedman
Lyrics by Anne Washburn
Gonzaga University
Magnuson Theatre
November 2016
Production Team:
Director – Charles M Pepiton
Musical Director – Robert Spittal
Asst. Musical Director – Nathan Patrick Nelson
Choreographer – Allison Drescher
Scenic Design – Courtney Smith
Costume Design – Leslie Stamoolis
Lighting Design – Ronn Campbell
Sound Design – Scott Martinez & Charles M Pepiton
Property Design – Abbey Plankey
Dramaturge – Colleen McLean
Technical Director – Abbey Plankey
Stage Manager – Kristen Farris
Photographer – Edward Bell
Cast:
Matt, Homer, Scratchy, Musician – Nathan Patrick Nelson
Jenny, Marge – Talena Laine
Maria, Itchy – Isabella Jackowich
Sam, Bart, Homer – Daniel Martin
Colleen, Lisa – Grady Foster
Gibson, Sideshow Bob, Mr. Burns – Mitchell Gomes
Quincy, Lisa, Bart – Annika Perez-Krikorian
Edna Crabapple – Elizabeth Spindler
Principle Skinner, Musician – Carson Stowell
Understudy – Olivia Roberts
Program Notes:
Playwright Anne Washburn notes, “Storytelling isn’t how we entertain ourselves; it’s how we understand ourselves…Since all stories, no matter how fanciful, are in some way constructed from our experiences, real or imagined – all storytelling is a remaking of our past, in order to create our future.”
I’m curious about what stories we tell, our rituals, and the telling way they morph over time. Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play is about how one age reverberates into the next. It is a parable, of sorts, about our clumsy, steadfast efforts to reclaim the future and how we look to “meet that future gloriously,” despite all odds.
- February 22, 2017 – The Bulletin – ‘Mr. Burns’ makes school history.
- November 17, 2016 – The Inlander – The Bart of Storytelling: An eclectic dark comedy at Gonzaga draws on The Simpsons to reflect on the notion of stories.
- November 9, 2016 – Spokane Public Radio: Gonzaga University Theater Presents Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Audio)