"Plenty of science fiction shows us the political and social fallout of an apocalypse. But what will the end times do to our pop culture? "Mr. Burns", a play opening this month in New York, does a magnificent job plunging us into a post-pandemic future — by exploring how people will remember The Simpsons." - Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)

"Written by Anne Washburn and directed by Steve Cosson, Mr. Burns begins a few weeks after a horrific pandemic has wiped out most of civilization. We never see the carnage — we only hear about it in the form of rumors and stories shared by a small group of people around a campfire in the middle of the New England forest. As the play opens, the group is clutching guns and looking shellshocked. But they're also passing the time by trying to retell the story of the Simpsons episode Cape Feare." - Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)

"If oral history is all that remains of the Simpsons, what will happen to it over time? In a deliciously bizarre third act, set 77 years after the pandemic, we get to find out. There is no more backstage story. We are simply watching a play that is being staged in the future, where the Simpsons have become mythological figures fleeing from Springfield after Mr. Burns has wrecked it with his evil nuclear powers. The reference-heavy, Gen X irony of The Simpsons has turned into an opera, done in the style of an ancient Greek tragedy." - Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)