(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's NEXTStage Repertory will return for the 2025-2026 season with a production of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play weekends from October 16-26, 2025. 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. Anne Washburn's imaginative dark comedy is an animated exploration of how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another. The play features a Score by Michael Friedman, and Lyrics by Anne Washburn.
The cast of Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play features Centenary University theatre department students, with additional students also making up a large portion of the creative and stage management team. These students make up the NEXTstage Repertory, CSC's all student performance division.
Directing the students in their production is Christopher Young. Chris also serves as the General Manager for Centenary Stage Company and as an adjunct faculty member for the theatre department teaching Stage Combat and Acting for the Camera.
Tickets for Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play are $17.50. Performances will take place Thursdays, October 16 & 23 at 7:00pm; Friday, October 17 & October 24 at 8:00pm; Saturday, October 18 & October 25 at 8:00pm; and Sunday, October 19 & October 26 at 2:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online. Performances will take place in the Kutz Theatre located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center of the Centenary University campus at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.
In addition to being a part of the NEXTstage Repertory, these students also become a part of CSC's Professional Theatre Company. Unlike many professional theatres located on college and university campuses, Centenary students play an active and vital role in all professional productions from cast to crew, participating in all facets of production. Students are thereby provided with networking opportunities with artists who come to work with CSC throughout the year. These opportunities allow them to make important personal connections with working professionals.
For more information, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.
The 2025-26 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, Explore Warren, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.
