Performances began January 11 for Less Than Rent's world premiere of How to Load a Musket, a new docu-drama by actor and playwright Talene Monahon. Woven from verbatim conversations with historical reenactors throughout the U.S., the play with music runs at 59E59 Theaters, directed by Jaki Bradley.
The cast of How to Load a Musket is comprised of Carolyn Braver (The Iceman Cometh), Adam Chanler-Berat (Saint Joan), David J. Cork (Showtime’s City on a Hill), Ryan Spahn (Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow at MCC), Andy Taylor (Sunset Boulevard), Lucy Taylor (Dance Nation at Playwrights Horizons), Richard Topol (Indecent), and Nicole Villamil (Network).
Performances will continue through January 26.
Monahon began spending time with the reenactment community in 2015, first with Revolutionary War units in Massachusetts and New York and then heading South to speak to the reenactors of the Civil War. Through their very candid responses, Monahon exposes the radically contrasting opinions around how history is told and who the country belongs to.
Jonathan Larson Award winner Zoe Sarnak (Empire Records) has written original songs for the production.
The creative team also includes set designer Lawrence Moten, lighting designer Stacey DeRosier, sound designer Jim Petty, prop designers Caitlyn Murphy, and costume designer Olivia Vaughn Hern. The production stage manager is Haley Gordon.
