This play has three (long) acts. The first investigates a post-apocalyptic society in the near future, where survivors of disaster try to remember episodes of The Simpsons in order to entertain themselves. The second act takes place seven years later with the same characters. The performance of Simpsons episodes has become an integral part of the society rising up in this post-electric world. The third and final act, 75 years later, is a retelling of a Simpsons episode in grand "ancient play" style, almost like a miracle play crossed with Shakespeare. Clearly, the Simpsons have taken on a new meaning in this new post-electric world.

This would be a better play to watch than read, for sure. So many of the lines are overlapping attempts at remembering Simpsons dialogue. You do not have to be a fan of the Simpsons to understand main points of the plot. It strikes me as a director that the play would be difficult to stage in that it runs pretty long - especially the beginning and the final act are tedious at times. But it's really interesting thematically as a look at storytelling and human nature. ( )

I am dying to see a good production of this play. It is a bit difficult to read. However, the concept is stellar and I think it would be fun to really pick a part. The dialogue seems very real, which makes it hard to follow. The interesting ideas that the play presents I am sure are better seen than read, but that is what plays are intended for, performance. ( )

A few months after the breakdown of society, a group of survivors try to remember the plot of episodes of The Simpsons to entertain and distract themselves from the world falling apart around them and the deaths of their loved ones. Several years later, various theater troupes perform elaborate productions of episodes of The Simpsons, and trade half-remembered lines from them like currency. Many, many years later, humanity has devolved into nothing but a twisted, cult-like reenactment of The Simpsons, with all the plots and characters muddled together. Nelson raps a lot.

It's a really fascinating concept, similar to Station Eleven. How will the entertainment of today affect us in a future where society has broken down? What will we remember in the first couple years and what will be eternal? In the first act there is lots of talk about what is going on in the world and where people's loved ones might be. In the second act there is a little talk of interpersonal relations. The third act is entirely Simpsons-ified.

The execution of this interesting concept in written form is a total nightmare. I'm sure it's different when seen on stage, but reading this play in a book was like reading a transcript of a poorly-spoken person trying to answer a question that they don't know the answer to. Characters speak over each other constantly and repeat the same word or phrase several times and speak entirely in long strings of sentence fragments without punctuation. This is definitely how people actually speak sometimes, but reading it on a page is deeply unpleasant. I would probably see a production of a play written by Anne Washburn, but I won't read any more. ( )