D’oh! Grand ambitions, good intentions not quite realized in CPT’s ‘Mr. Burns’ Bob Abelman Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal Member, International Association of Theatre Critics Maybe it’s our new-found awareness that pollution and over-consumption are driving the planet to ruin. Perhaps it’s our increasing dependence on technology or the tension generated by the current state of global politics. But there’s been a rash of post-apocalyptic fiction in recent years, from “The Hunger Games” trilogy and “The Maze Runner” to “The Walking Dead” and “Falling Skies.” None are as funny as Anne Washburn's wild, three-act dystopian comedy “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play,” which opened at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C. in 2012, had an Off-Broadway run in 2013, and is getting its regional premiere at Cleveland Public Theatre. While the play is poignantly wrought and addresses serious, big picture issues like the nature of human resilience, the importance of community, and the power of storytelling to sustain humanity and salvage culture, “The Simpsons” – TV’s longest-running sitcom – serves as its source material, which adds a delicious, head-shaking absurdity to the entire affair. Some degree of Simpsons literacy, a working knowledge of the 1991 Martin Scorsese film “Cape Fear” on which the Simpsons episode that drives this play is based, and a passing familiarity with contemporary pop music are certainly a plus when watching this show, though they are not required. What is required is stamina, for this clever play is given a rather plodding production. For more of this article, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/.