by Kristin L Schoenback

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ACT I

The play begins shortly after an unspecified apocalyptic event leaving the United States without electricity. With toxic waste everywhere you step, killing everything around it, a group of survivors, who have experienced unspeakable tragedies during these past events, gather to escape the chaos of the world around them. Riddled with fear about how they are going to live and survive in this new world, they find comfort in attempting to recount the "Cape Feare" episode of the popular TV show, The Simpsons. In the middle of their story, a newcomer creeps in, looking for shelter and warmth by the fire. Upon the entrance of this newcomer, they begin to ask him about how he got here and the state of various cities he has been to. In a newfound tradition in this post-apocalyptic world, they pull out a list of names of family and friends, of whom they are looking for. In midst of a recount of a tragic event one of the survivors had endured, they force themselves back into their retelling of that beloved “Cape Feare” episode, and end with singing the song that is featured in the episode.

ACT II

Act II picks up seven years later, and the group of survivors have added a few members to their team, and formed a theatre troupe. Without electricity, they spend the daylight hours rehearsing The Simpsons episode they have rewritten based on lines they have obtained rights to through trade. They discuss the copyright issues between various troupes and discuss what their troupe needs in their art to stay afloat. They rehearse excerpts from their adaptation of The Simpsons episode, as well as commercials for commodities they try to remember having before the apocalypse, like Diet Coke and baths. In addition, they rehearse a flashy musical number with pieces of popular music from before the apocalypse, hoping the draw in a huge crowd when it's all finished. There has been talk of people getting up in arms and almost violent about the copyright issues in regards to lines that are purchased from the outsiders, and the act ends with two mysterious figures entering looking to pick a fight, and gunshots going off.

 

ACT III

Act III fast forwards seventy-five years. It opens at the beginning of a play - a musical pageant adaptation of the same Simpsons episode we heard in the previous two acts, only now that same episode has now become myth, with much of the plot, characters, and morals repurposed to fit the artistic needs of a culture still reeling from destruction of civilization, and the near-extinction of humanity decades earlier.

The play opens with a chorus singing about the moment the characters in the musical heard an emergency siren after an explosion at Mr. Burns' power plant. The narration, in midst of a listing of names like we saw in Act I, turns attention to the Simpsons family on a houseboat. They have been kidnapped by Mr. Burns and his sidekicks Itchy and Scratchy. They sing about their yearning to go back home and get back to a normal life. Mr. Burns has a grudge with Bart, who tries to negotiate the release of his family. Mr. Burns challenges Bart, displaying his power and strength and threatening him with  a gun, inciting fear in Bart. Bart finds strength in his family’s encouragement, who are tied up. However, Mr. Burns reveals that his family has been dead, and he has been speaking to ghosts. As Bart and Mr. Burns are about to duel, the rapids pick up and they are all flung about the boat, and Mr. Burns is disarmed. Bart then throws Mr. Burns into the river, and is left all alone. The rest of the cast comes out to sing with Bart about continuing in our adventures despite what the world throws at you. Act III concludes with the cast bowing and the curtain being pulled back to reveal the actor playing Mr. Burns pedaling a bicycle, which is powering string lights hung around the space. However, this doesn’t last long, and the entire theatre fades to black.