A post-electric play about Bart Simpson Kills in Chicago

"The best work of director Jeremy Wechsler's career."

"Washburn's script has a very distinct kind of thrill, the one that kicks in when you have absolutely no idea where a play is going, except that it is not likely to be any place you recall being before in a theater.

"This thrill is one of expansiveness of vision — an intellectual rush, a sense of unexplored theatrical possibility, a fearlessness of operation, an understanding of the complex relationship of cultural innovation and populist pulp. Oh, and one more thing: the massive pull of shared experience.

"But wherever you land on the "Simpsons" obsession scale, you should know that "Mr. Burns" is very funny. And that's most of what you need to know."

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

★★★½ “Mr. Burns” sweeps you into its weirdly funny, dystopian world.

Wechsler’s ensemble maintains energy throughout the show’s wild ride. As Quincy/Bart, Leslie Ann Sheppard brings the gravity of Odysseus into the petulant bombast of the yellow-haired cartoon child. Bart’s an unlikely charismatic leader, but Sheppard makes him heroic, somehow without dimming his obnoxiousness.

As Sam/Mr. Burns, Andrew Jessop leans into the latter with the ferocity of a chainsaw on blast. He chews the scenery to sawdust. Then, he eats the sawdust. That’s not a read: The more preposterously monstrous Mr. Burns becomes, the more he sucks you into his wickedly charismatic orbit.

And keep an eye on Wil Wilhelm as Jenny/Marge/Mrs. Krabapel. Costumed like a battered, underwater Statue of Liberty, they are the humming coil that runs the length of the third act, sending out vocals that prove “falsetto belt” is not an necessarily an oxymoron.

In the end, “Mr. Burns” is both a story of creation and destruction. Love may win, as the angel chorus tells us, but hate leaves scars. It’s a brutal, compelling message.

— Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun Times

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. More timely than ever!

A dizzyingly smart contraption, and Wechsler’s direction and stellar ensemble keep it all on point, balancing the poignant with the ridiculous, the quotidian with the existential.

No matter how well you feel you’ve managed the dread (and anger, and confusion) of this time, Mr. Burns offers both wry smart laughs and a sense that finding our tribe with a common narrative is one way through the darkness.

— Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader

Both extremely entertaining and illuminating, you'll find it hard to leave the theatre without buzzing with electricity.

The script is certainly a true work of art and it's clear that Wechsler and the team at Theater Wit recognize the worth of this play and are giving it everything they have.

With a top-notch set (that, really, is three different set designs in one show) by Joe Schermoly (along with Jesse Gaffney on props), lit with precision and skill by Mike Durst, and characters clad in often brilliantly creative costumes by Mara Blumenfeld, the physical look of the show is one of the most stunning and impressive I have ever seen in Chicago storefront theatre.

The cast is uniformly strong. The balance found between all of the actors in this ensemble piece is spot on, and it is a joy to watch.

The choreography couldn't be funnier or more effective.

Though the script is chock-full of intellectual stimulation, Theatre Wit's production of "Mr. Burns" is also, quite simply, really damn entertaining. It's funny, it's witty, it's interesting, and those three acts fly by.

— Elee Schrock, Broadway World Chicago

RECOMMENDED!

"Under the deliberate yet freewheeling direction of Jeremy Wechsler, Theater Wit’s production of Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play is, my apologies in advance, simply electrifying. The cast is stellar, managing to rev up from realistic drama to full-blown opera over the course of the play’s three acts. The production design likewise starts with utter simplicity, some trees and effective campfire lighting, and eventually explodes in full, orgiastic spectacle. The play itself is unlike anything else in town, and Wechsler’s production is as good as this town has to offer."

— Alex Huntsberger, New City

Mind-bending, terrifying, hilarious, and moving!

"Each act opens on a different time and place, and things just get weirder each time the curtain rises. And by weird, I mean wonderful. I’m not going to spoil the story for you, but let it be known that the third act has to be seen to be believed."

"Seriously, this show has it all, and it’s using all of the tools of modern theatre to do it – not big technical splashes, but clever designs, good acting, the right mixture of stillness and explosions. Go have your mind blown with some damn fine theatre."

— Jackie Davies, Theatre 1234

★★★★ Anne Washburn's three-act play is a wonderfully weird paean to pop culture's place in our lives.

"Interspersed with music by composer Michael Friedman that draws as gleefully from pop culture influences as Washburn’s script, and deftly played out by a crack ensemble of young Chicago actors under Jeremy Wechsler’s direction (and with special commendation due to Mara Blumenfeld and Mieka Van Der Ploeg’s brilliant, scavenger-style costumes), in Theater Wit's terrific Chicago premiere, Mr. Burns is a trippy but persuasive paean to story’s power in our perseverance."

— Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago