Final Show of “Mr.Burns, a Post Electric Play” Cancelled Due to COVID-19

The final day of “Mr. Burns, a Post Electric Play” was cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the cast.

The University of Central Oklahoma Theatre Department put on “Mr. Burns, a Post Electric Play” by Anne Washburn this past weekend, starting with an opening night on Thursday and having several showings up until Sunday, when the show was canceled due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the cast and crew. 

The play has had setbacks since the first few rehearsals, with the Winter Break proving to be an issue.

Director of the play, Kelsey Fisher, sai,d “We had just begun rehearsals when it was time for winter break, and we all went away for a couple of weeks. The cast was generous and were willing to give up some of their last week of break to come together and get back to Burns business.”

That was not the only setback and unfortunate circumstance for the play before the Covid-19 outbreak, as the cast lost several days of preparation for the play due to the snowstorms in January that forced UCO to close campus Friday, Jan. 23, through Tuesda,y Jan. 27. 

Layne DeTello, who played Sam/Mr. Burns said, “The weather was a big setback because we missed two or three days of rehearsals, but we overcame it.” 

The cast and crew had been putting together the play for several months, and for some of the actors, it was more personal than for others. 

“This will be my last show before I graduate. I’m trying to enjoy it for as long as I still have it,” said Jett King, who played Matt/Homer.

“I actually was an actor in this show when I was in graduate school! It was a big, wild, challenging show as a performer, and I never really got it out of my head.” Fisher said.

Fisher, having personal attachment and prior experience with the play, turned out to be very useful for the cast. 

“She has a lot of prior knowledge and background information. She has really helped us with character analysis,” said King. 

The play marked Fisher’s first time directing on the Mitchell Hall stage after previously being a student at UCO. 

Even after several setbacks in rehearsals and production, the cast and crew still came together through collaboration. 

Fisher said “I don’t see how anyone could do it (the show) without collaboration at its core. The script leaves so much for the production team to fill in the blanks with. We created the moments, the movement, even some of the music…all of that happened in the room and with this team.”

“Mr. Burns, a Post Electric Play” is the first play of the semester from the University of Central Oklahoma’s Theatre Arts program, as the play, “Hand to God” by Robert Askins, is expected later on in the semester.