Simpsons govern new civilization in Mr. Burns
> BY JOHN LUCAS
When the Straight sits down with Mr. Burns director Madelyn Osborne and composer Katerina Gimon, it seems germane to ask each to name her favourite episode of The Simpsons. Osborne picks Season 7’s “Lisa the Vegetarian” for personal reasons, noting that she grew up meatfree herself. Gimon, however, selects “Cape Feare”, a choice she admits likely reflects the fact that the Season 5 episode is central to the plot of Mr. Burns.
Anne Washburn’s dark comedy, which is subtitled A Post-electric Play, is set after an unspecified apocalyptic event. To entertain themselves, a few survivors attempt to remember the details of “Cape Feare”. (For those unfamiliar with the episode, it’s the one in which Sideshow Bob attempts to murder Bart, forcing the Simpsons into the witness-protection program.)
“The first act is set only three months after the happening, of the power grid going down, so it’s all still pretty fresh for them,” says Osborne, who is directing Mr. Burns for Little Mountain Lion Productions. “And a couple of people in the group are Simpsons fans, so they really remember it, and then other people just voice in little pieces of it. And then they carry that on into the seven years after in Act 2.”
By that time, the characters have formed a professional theatre troupe that specializes in performing their chosen Simpsons episode live, complete with reconstructions of commercials. And by the time Act 3 rolls around, the action has moved forward 75 years, depicting a new society in which “Cape Feare” has taken on the status of popular mythology.
Any given Simpsons episode is chock-full of cultural references, but “Cape Feare” contains more than most. The plot is very loosely based on the 1962 film Cape Fear (and its 1991 remake), with nods to Psycho, Friday the 13th Part III, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. One important plot point revolves around Sideshow Bob singing Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore in its entirety.
Osborne notes that while the significance of most of these references is lost on the characters by Act 3, they feel duty-bound to incorporate them anyway. “The communities in the world that they’re living in find it really important to get the details as close as they can,” she says. “They try to keep as much in as possible.”
They also include snippets of pop songs from the past. Washburn left the selection of repertoire wide-open, which gave Gimon plenty of freedom. “I did a lot of research, listened to a lot of things, gathered a lot of input from people. There are definitely a lot of my favourite songs in there.”
As with The Simpsons, the characters are relying on half-remembered snatches of pop culture handed down from prior generations. “We get the references, but at the same time it’s slightly off—like, words slightly off and melody slightly off as well,” says Gimon.
Osborne and Gimon agree that the message of Mr. Burns is that human survival depends on more than just the basic necessities required to sustain life. We need art and we need stories, but most of all we need to come together in like-minded communities. But will it speak to someone who knows nothing about The Simpsons? (And yes, those people are out there, allegedly.)
“The most beautiful part about this script is that Anne has so delicately used The Simpsons as a vehicle to tell the story, but on the other side of it, it’s just about people—people trying to survive and have relationships, and communicate and create something together,” Osborne says. “My mom asked me the same thing. She really wants to come and see the show, and she was like, ‘Am I gonna get it?’ If you’re a Simpsons fan, there are a lot of little Easter eggs in there that you’re totally going to be able to catch. But if you’re not, there’s still a beautiful story there about being human, and how art can support humanity.”