The Yakima Valley College Drama Department will present “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” by Anne Washburn this winter with performances February 23, 24 and 25 as well as March 2, 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students/seniors and $10 general admission. YVC’s production, held in Kendall Hall Auditorium, Building #12, is directed by Drama Instructor Ray Pritchard.

Mr. Burns is glimpse into a Post-Apocalyptic world in which stories have been told and re-told over so many years that they become myth, legend and then maybe even religion says Pritchard.

After the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors share a campfire and begin to piece together the plot of “The Simpsons” episode “Cape Feare” entirely from memory. Seven years later, this and other snippets of pop culture (sitcom plots, commercials, jingles and pop songs) have become the live entertainment of a post-apocalyptic society sincerely trying to hold onto its past. Seventy-five years later, these are the myths and legends from which new forms of performance are created.

“It’s a dark comedy with haunting similarities to what we have all just been through with the covid pandemic, and makes you question how close we really came to something like this play being more of a reality. It also makes you question, if the world were to end, what stories would you remember, and pass along until they eventually became more than just a story or memory,” said Pritchard.

“Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” received its world premiere at the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in Washington, D.C. in 2012 and had its New York City debut at Playwrights Horizons in 2013 under the direction of Steve Cosson. It’s the winner of the 2015 Whiting Award for Drama and was nominated for the 2014 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play.

Cast members include Aimee Hostetler (Yakima) Matt Kincannon (Yakima) Noah Price (Yakima) Kaitlyn Rodriguez (Yakima) Danica Jenck (Yakima) Katie Guthrie (Yakima) Greyson Malsam (Yakima) Dalilah Nelson, Drew Lynch (Yakima).

Tickets are on sale now. For more information call 509.574.4837.