Don’t have a cow man, but Theater Wit in Chicago’s Lakeview community announced today the return of live performances starting August 27, 2021 with a revival of one of its most acclaimed productions ever, Anne Washburn’s smash hit: Mr. Burns, a post electric play.
Not only is Wit presenting an open-ended revival of one of its most popular shows in its history, the post-apocalyptic story and themes in Mr. Burns couldn’t be more of-the-moment as society emerges from a pandemic that shut down the world as we knew it for more than a year.
Theater Wit’s 2015 world premiere of Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. Pictured (front, from left) Leah Urzendowski as Marge, Daniel Desmarais as Homer, (back), Andrew Jessop as Bart and Christina Hall as Lisa. Credit: Charles Osgood.
In addition to reopening in August with Mr. Burns, Theater Wit also announced two Chicago premieres to round out its three-play, 2021-22 season:
- The Chicago premiere of Matthew Lombardo’s new seasonal comedy Who's Holiday!, about a booze-guzzling, cigarette-smoking adult Cindy Lou Who reminiscing about the fateful night she met The Grinch.
- Hurricane Diane by Theater Wit favorite Madeleine George. Her hilarious look at society’s collective blind eye to climate change, centered around a butch lesbian gardener in New Jersey who also just might be the Greek god Dionysus, will receive its Chicago premiere at Theater Wit in spring 2022.
“529 days after our last live performance, I am thrilled to welcome artists and audiences back to live theater with three comedies that reclaim joy from calamity and remind us how our best moments as humans emerge from crises at the personal and global level,” said Theater Wit Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler.
Theater Wit is located at 1229 N. Belmont Ave., in the Belmont Theatre District in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets for Mr. Burns, a post-electric play will go on sale mid-summer. Stay tuned for casting and other exciting production updates.
For tickets and information, visit TheaterWit.org or call (773) 975-8150.
More about Theater Wit’s return to live theater and its 2021-22 season line-up:
Anne Washburn (left), cast members from Theater Wit's 2015 production of Mr. Burns
Mr. Burns, a post-electric play
- by Anne Washburn, music by Michael Friedman
- directed by Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler
- musical direction by Andra Velis Simon
- choreography by Brigitte Ditmars
- Performances begin August 27. Open run. Tickets $20-$45.
Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, one of the most popular shows in Theater Wit’s history, is back for a special return engagement.
And post-pandemic? Simply put, Wit couldn’t have picked a more prescient show from its past to usher in the return of live performances.
What’s left when everything is taken away? That’s the question Mr. Burns asks…the same question on everyone’s mind the past 16 months. Mr. Burns begins after life as we know it has ended. Small bands of survivors have banded together in pods to keep the pilot light of civilization burning. But their path to redemption is as unexpected as it is inevitable.
A paean to the restorative power of live theater and the resilience of Bart Simpson through the ages, Mr. Burns is an animated and hilarious exploration of how the pop culture of one generation might evolve into the mythology of another. Bonus: Mr. Burns is also a dazzling, panoramic vista on the healing power of storytelling.
Here’s what the critics said about Theater Wit’s 2015 Chicago premiere of Mr. Burns (and more good news: more than half of the original company is returning for the production’s momentous revival):
★★★½ “A significant narrative and emotional achievement! A very distinct kind of thrill, the one that kicks in when you have absolutely no idea where a play is going, except that it is not likely to any place you recall being before in a theater.”
- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune (full review)
“Simply electrifying. The cast is stellar, and the play is unlike anything else.”
- Alex Huntsberger, New City (full review)
“A true work of art. Top-notch, brilliantly creative. Really damn entertaining. A joy to watch.”
- Elee Schrock, Broadwayworld Com (full review)
Who's Holiday!
- A Chicago premiere
- by Matthew Lombardo
- directed by Christopher Pazdernik
- Performances: November 26-December 26, 2021
- Tickets: $20-$35
You saw her last when she was just two
Celebrate the holidays with Cindy Lou Who
Pull up a seat and fill up your cup
'Cause your favorite little Who is all grown up
Who's Holiday! is a wildly funny and heartfelt adults-only comedy that tells the story of Cindy Lou Who as she recalls that Christmas Eve she first met the Grinch and the twisted turn of events her life has now taken.
Who's Holiday! arrives in Chicago not without some controversy. Playwright Matthew Lombardo was locked in a legal battle with Dr. Seuss Enterprises over accusations of copyright infringement, delaying the play’s 2017 world premiere at New York’s Westside Theater for nearly year. Ultimately, a U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Lombardo, citing his depiction of a now 45-year-old Cindy Lou Who living in a beat-up trailer in the snowy hills of Mount Crumpit as “fair use."
“A raunchy riff on Dr. Seuss’s yuletide tale …The little tyke has become a bottle-blonde adult who spends her days in a trailer appointed with Airstream functionality and seasonal kitsch…brassy, very funny…a holiday offering that dirties up Christmas while ultimately reveling in its spirit.”
- Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times
“This irreverent, adults-only sequel…dares to be as tasteless as possible while replicating Seuss’s trademark rhythms…flawless…juggling comedy, musical interludes, and audience interaction.”
- Regina Robbins, Time Out New York
Hurricane Diane
- A Chicago premiere
- by Madeleine George
- directed by Jeremy Wechsler
- starring Kelli Simpkins
- Opens June 2022
Audience favorite Madeleine George (Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England and The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence) returns for another collaboration in Wit’s Chicago premiere of her hilarious evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change, even (or especially) in our own backyards.
Sure, Diane may be a charming butch permaculture gardener, but she’s also the Greek god Dionysus returned to the modern world to avert the coming apocalypse. And where better to begin than with four housewives in a New Jersey cul-de-sac?
“Madeleine George’s fantastic, heartbreaking Hurricane Diane is a comedy in the most ancient, expansive sense... plying us with laughter until we’re tipsy, then lovingly, ruthlessly slipping in the knife. Hilarious, shattering, and full of keen observation and profound human affection, the play both lifts us up and wrings us out.” - The Vulture
About Theater Wit
Theater Wit, Chicago’s “smart art” theater, is located at 1229 N. Belmont Ave., in the Belmont Theatre District in Chicago’s Lakeview community. Theater Wit is a major hub of Chicago’s neighborhood theater scene, where audiences enjoy a smorgasbord of excellent productions in its three, 99-seat spaces, see a parade of talented artists and mingle with audiences from all over Chicago.
To purchase tickets, a Theater Wit Membership or to inquire about Flex Pass options, visit TheaterWit.org, send email to info@theaterwit.org, or call the Theater Wit box office, 773.975.8150.