MUSKET AND THE RAT Has its World Premiere In Hollywood On January 4

Musket Cherry is a young woman who lives in a gritty, rugged, ungentrified neighborhood in Chicago. Her mom is a deadbeat alcoholic. Musket's anchors are her beloved brother Weso, her best friend Gay Stevie, and her boyfriend Billy. Times are tough. Musket supports her family by selling heroin and comforts herself with lots of weed. Bad things happen. Weso is arrested on a trumped-up charge and beaten in jail. Billy is jumped and robbed. Musket decides to set things right by arming herself. In a world where justice does not exist, maybe those who wrong her will understand her gun. Can Musket prevail over the forces arrayed against her?

Sammy Horowitz is the playwright. Originally from Chicago, where he encountered people who were the inspiration for his characters, he followed winning careers in boxing and mixed martial arts, with a successful run as a Hollywood stuntman. You've seen his work in some of your favorite TV shows and movies, including Chicago P.D., Stumptown, SEAL Team, Widows, Rampage, much more. He resides with his wife in Hollywood. Musket and the Rat is his first play.

Simon Lees directs. Also an actor, he scored a triumph starring with Lawrence Pressman at the Matrix Theatre in Farm Boy, the sequel to Michael Morpurgo's War Horse and an L.A. Times Critic's Pick. Following an extended period travelling, exploring and living in the American and Canadian wilderness regions, he's returned to Hollywood to make his directing debut.

The cast includes Andi Morrow and Maya Schnaider (who will alternate in the role of Musket), Lucas Jackson, Adam Pasen, Garrick LeWinter, Bryan Navarro, Angel Lizarraga (from the recent extended hit show Always Running at Casa 0101), Michelle Holmes and Chas Mitchell.

Stage manager: Jeffrey Gibson. Set design: Aaron Glazer. Lighting design: Greg Crafts.

Horowitz comments, "Every single one of these characters were inspired by people I've known in my life. I know Musket. I know Billy. ... I know them all. This is who they are, how they talk, what they say ... in some cases verbatim."

"The whole underside of our society has always been violence and still is. Churches, laws---Everybody seems to think that man is a noble savage. But he's only an animal. A meat-eating, talking animal. He also has grace and love and beauty. But don't say to me we're not violent."---Sam Peckinpah

Musket and the Rat isn't your typical story of a young woman. But you can count on it being authentic. Her story and this character-driven play are unlike any other story you'll see on stage for a long time.

WHERE: Arena Stage Hollywood, 1625 N. Las Palmas Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028. Parking is available (fee charged) in an adjacent lot.

WHEN: Previews Friday, January 3. Opens Saturday, January 4, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. Performances Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Also, Sunday, January 5 at 7:00 p.m. Closes January 18.

ADMISSION: $30. Students with I.D., veterans, persons in recovery, $15.

RESERVATIONS: (800) 838-3006.

ONLINE TICKETING: https://brownpapertickets.com/event/4423684

CONSUMER ADVISORY: Profanity, one sexual situation. Leave the kids at home. * * * * * *