In the absence of electronics, an entire economy of brokers, bookers, and actor-managers has sprung up to fill the entertainment void in this violent and lawless world. Seven years later, these survivors have evolved into a traveling troupe of players who act out not-quite-accurate episodes of The Simpsons and highly nostalgic commercials in front of a paying audience. A ragtag group of survivors huddles around a campfire and tries to recount the “Cape Feare” episode of The Simpsons, a parody of the Martin Scorsese remake of Cape Fear. A subsequent series of nuclear meltdowns (not enough engineers survived the plague) have poisoned the atmosphere and brought down the electrical grid. This three-act play starts in the not-so-distant future, after an epidemic has decimated the population. Watching it is like looking at a complex painting: The longer you look, the more you’ll discover and you’re likely to find new details upon repeat inspection. If you’re able to suspend your disbelief, you will discover an infinitely fascinating and meticulously constructed play that is well worth your two hours. That doesn’t mean, however, that intrepid producers wouldn’t rob the graves of the aforementioned deceased media: In Washburn’s future, live performances of television scripts (particularly The Simpsons) are all the rage. After all, in a world lit only by fire, the theater’s electronic competition (movies, TV, the internet) would be instantly obliterated, leaving live performance as the only viable mode of entertainment. If you really think about it, though, it makes sense. It seems like a far-fetched notion when so many stage companies are facing financial ruin without the added pressure of Armageddon. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, now receiving its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons. That is the central assumption behind Anne Washburn’s Mr. Playwrights Horizons, now in its 48th year, is dedicated to cultivating American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, as well as developing and producing their new plays and musicals.After the Apocalypse, the theater will survive. Harris’s A Boy’s Company Presents: “Tell Me If I’m Hurting You.” This world premiere commissioned by Playwrights Horizons is described as a “gilded, hyperqueer revenge fantasy” between characters called Vinny and Baby Boy. It tells the story of an Afghan interpreter employed, then abandoned by U.S. Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury opens in March 2020, directed by Tyne Rafaeli. The show spans three generations as it follows the discovery by a woman of the photograph of an anonymous soldier, tucked away in a box of her grandmother’s keepsakes. In February 2020, Unknown Soldier, a musical with music and lyrics by the late Michael Friedman, with book and lyrics by Daniel Goldstein, will open, with direction by Trip Cullman. The play follows the recollections of a young woman in the thrall of a psychic as she is haunted by mysterious family secret. Next, in November, is The Thin Place by Lucas Hnath, directed by Les Waters. The play depicts four young conservatives gathered for a backyard after-party, as their reunion spirals into chaos and inter-generational recrimination. In September Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning will open, directed by Danya Taymor. A world premiere commission by Playwrights Horizons, the play spans the castles of 16th-century France to the plains of 1960s Idaho to the strapping fortresses of 1920s India, honing in on the untold stories of the women behind the world’s patriarchal Great Men narratives. The season begins in August with Wives by Jaclyn Backhaus, directed by Margot Bordelon. “Even as the plays are in dialogue with pressing conversations happening all around us, what feels so exciting about these works is how many of them do so with a super-aesthetic approach that pushes the theatrical form to new heights while perpetuating our curiosity rather than offering easy answers.” “The playwrights featured this season are pursuing remarkably fresh and wildly varied artistic styles,” said Tim Sanford, Playwrights’ artistic director, in a statement. NEW YORK CITY: Playwrights Horizons has announced its 2019-20 season, featuring five new plays and a new musical, the last by late composer Michael Friedman.
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