Centenary Stage Company NEXTStage Repertory Opens 2025–26 Season with MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY
Performances run October 16–26, 2025, at the Lackland Performing Arts Center in Hackettstown, NJ.
Centenary Stage Company’s NEXTStage Repertory will kick off the 2025–26 season with Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play by Anne Washburn, with a score by Michael Friedman and lyrics by Washburn.
After the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors gather around a campfire and attempt to reconstruct the plot of The Simpsons episode “Cape Feare” entirely from memory. Seven years later, these fragments of pop culture—sitcom episodes, commercials, jingles, and pop songs—become the basis of communal entertainment for a society trying to preserve its past. Seventy-five years later, these retellings have transformed into myths and legends, forming the foundation of a new cultural mythology. Washburn’s imaginative dark comedy explores how the popular culture of one era can evolve into the mythology of another.
Cast and Creative Team
The production features students from Centenary University’s theatre department, who make up CSC’s NEXTStage Repertory, the company’s all-student performance division. These students also serve on the creative and stage management teams, working side-by-side with CSC’s professional theatre company. Unlike many campus-based theatres, Centenary students play an active role in all professional productions, gaining opportunities to work directly with visiting artists and build professional networks.
Directing the production is Christopher Young, General Manager of Centenary Stage Company and adjunct theatre faculty member at Centenary University, where he teaches Stage Combat and Acting for the Camera.
Performance Schedule
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Thursday, October 16 & 23 at 7:00 p.m.
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Friday, October 17 & 24 at 8:00 p.m.
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Saturday, October 18 & 25 at 8:00 p.m.
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Sunday, October 19 & 26 at 2:00 p.m.
All performances will take place in the Kutz Theatre at the Lackland Performing Arts Center, Centenary University campus.
Performances will be held October 16–26 in the Kutz Theatre at the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the Centenary University campus (715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown, NJ). Tickets are $17.50 for all seats and are available at centenarystageco.org or by calling the box office at (908) 979-0900.
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