Musket and the Rat
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Dull Boy Productions
Through January 18
RECOMMENDED
In the violent and unpredictable city of Chicago, if “you play, you pay.”
Musket Cherry lives in her alcoholic mother’s basement, selling heroin to support her family and, hopefully, pay her brother’s bail. Her two closest confidantes are her best friend Gay Stevie and her boyfriend Billy. But when tragedy strikes, not once but twice, a desperate Musket is willing to do anything to right a wrong and regain control over her life. Dull Boy Productions’s Musket and the Rat is a modern-day tragedy about the futility of violence and the difficulty of breaking the cycle.
Musket and the Rat feels firmly rooted in its setting, with references to Chicago landmarks and characters who speak with a thick regional dialect. While the slang seems to sit more comfortably in the mouths of some than others (creating a few moments that break the illusion), this world is rich and engrossing. The detailed dialogue and rich characterizations make clear that playwright Sammy Horowitz is speaking from personal experience; his bio states that he grew up involved in the same world of addiction and incarceration that his characters are in.
The eponymous Musket, played by Maya Schnaider, is an unconventional leading lady who takes no shit from anyone. She’s fierce and smart, with a secret soft side that only appears when she’s talking to her beloved brother. As her boyfriend Billy, Adrian Burks is sexy and charming, but underneath his swagger is a rootlessness and insecurity that keeps him tethered to Musket. The supporting array of customers and acquaintances are uniquely crafted, although Gay Stevie (Adam Pasen) and Musket’s mom Tabitha (Michelle Holmes) seem overly affected in their street-hardened personas and ultimately feel out of place in the hyper-realistic script.
The set by Aaron Glazer looks lived-in and dressed to perfection, with Sunny-D bottles and half-smoked joints littering the basement. The half-intact ceiling smartly makes the relatively spacious stage at the Arena Stage Hollywood appear smaller, allowing director Simon Lees to emphasize how the characters’ trapped energy erupts into violence.
Musket and the Rat is a well-structured play with a well-earned twist, although the final moments could use a bit more breathing room to allow the surprise ending to land. Musket is a complicated protagonist who both participates in and is victimized by the cutthroat world around her. This makes her story all the more truthful — and vital to include in the often male-centric conversation about drugs and gang violence. It also underscores that side of a city that gentrification hides — even though this play is set in Chicago, its parallels to Los Angeles are clear.
Arena Stage Hollywood, 1625 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through Jan. 18. (800) 838-3006 or https://musketandrat.com/tickets/. Running time: 90 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.
