See it if You enjoy history told in an informative manner that also feels entertaining. Characters play more than one part, but each is convincing.
Don't see it if You do not like historical data.
See it if You want to enjoy an excellent ensemble cast in a great take on a subject you might have dismissed
Don't see it if You want each actor to play one singular role
See it if you want to see something that is seen as quirky turned into an interesting hobby.
Don't see it if you don't like monologues...each person speaks individually for the most part. Don't let that deter you, it's really well put together.
See it if A semi docudrama on why some Americans dress up in Civil and Revolutionary War uniforms
Don't see it if actors playing multiple parts can be confusing Read more
See it if you are interested in a look into real mindsets that may be unlike your own, even inexplicable to your own.
Don't see it if you don’t wish to examine the justifications people give for their racism that they don’t think is racist.
See it if You want a well-acted and complex look at the weird world of war re-enactment.
Don't see it if You want a play with even and consistent pacing.
See it if great acting, actors play multiple parts. Interesting to learn about this world and various outlooks. More like a documentary than a play.
Don't see it if If you don't want to think about the topic of war reenactors or current politics. The play is about an hour and a half, no intermission.
See it if you're interested in US history (Revol/Civil War). Meet quirky participants in re-enactments. Not much plot, but interesting stories.
Don't see it if you need plot (only arc is abt creating HTLAM). But strg acting, solid staging, Drags a bit. You'll learn how to load/to wear 3-corner hat.
"A Play About Re-enactors Gets Real: Talene Monahon’s show at 59E59 Theaters feels provocative but unfinished, a pieced quilt of overlapping textures and ideas."
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3/5 Stars "While much of what the reenactors have to say about the United States, both then and now, is thought-provoking, 'How to Load a Musket' still feels like a work in progress. Monahon's noble effort to give everyone a voice, including herself...results in a kind of cacophony."
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"Monahon draws her interview subjects out beyond the obsessive pointillism of period costumes and replica munitions, and, with the director Jaki Bradley, presents a complex portrait of a darkly peculiar American pastime."
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"How to Load a Musket Takes Aim at Historical Reenactment: Talene Monahon's new documentary play explores why some Americans dress up in Civil and Revolutionary War uniforms."
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"An auspicious premiere of a sometimes comic, sometimes serious, and always compelling docudrama about the world of Revolutionary War and Civil War reenactors."
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4/5 Stars. "Talene Monahon's smart new docudrama studies people who re-enact battles from American history"
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"This compact play provides a smart, funny look into the minds of American war re-enactors."
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"An essay more than a play, with players as opposed to characters, How to Load a Musket is a racist diatribe that fails to make its points coherently. The costumes and appointments on the walls of a black box space say all that there is to say in a play that ultimately leaves one wanting for more."
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