Branded as Broadway’s Corniest Hit, Shucked is currently stalking America chock full of jokes, malapropisms, suggestive innuendos, and a bushel basket heaped with heart and soul. The official stalks-person, Reba McEntire, opines, “I want you to see “Shucked.” This is the hilarious nine-time 2023 Tony Award® nominee and winner for singer-actor Alex Newell. This musical comedy also won two Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards. It is now on tour across the United States. If you are tired of the pablum of serialization, sequels, unoriginal parodies, and nostalgic but recycled shows, Shucked is the cornpone cure. Shuck’s theme focuses on a clash between honest country folk bumpkins and an unscrupulous city slicker. Shucked is an imaginative, creative foray into a middle American campy country hoedown hootenanny colliding head-on with New York Broadway Culture, whetting the audience’s appetite for laughter, fun, and “good times” all around.
Erik Pinnick as Grandpa
New York-native playwright, screenwriter, and producer Robert Horn created the farm-to-fable book for Shucked. The simple plot is thoroughly entertaining thanks to the stellar cast, great music, and dancing. Horn is best known for the Broadway Tony Award-winning book for the musical adaptation of the 1982 film Tootsie. Horn aptly described his musical as somewhere between The Book of Mormon and Oklahoma. Amen, I agree.
Music and lyrics are credited to Grammy, CMA, and American Music Award-winner Brandy Lynn Clark, a singer-songwriter. The other half of this team is Texas-born Shane Lamar McNally, a three-time Grammy Award winner, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album included three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This duo skillfully uses their music to create characters, present background knowledge, and advance the storyline while entertaining us with a down-home appeal. The highlight song for me is “Independently Owned,” sung by Miki Abraham, who has had three years of experience playing Lulu Maizy’s cousin, the whiskey distiller. She is, world-wise, one Hot Southern Mama whose singing is on fire. You will love the line “ Don’t need a man for flatteries…” The illustrious three-time Tony Award winner, Midwestern-born Jack O’Brien of Hairspray and The Full Monty fame directs this corn-bred American musical. Shucked had the audience giggling, laughing out loud, and smiling from ear to ear.
Shucked is all about corn, just like America. The musical is set in fictional bucolic Cob County, with its economy and life threatened when the corn mysteriously begins to wither and die. The townspeople consider themselves self-sufficient, but they choose to be isolated. The hero farmgirl Maizy (Danielle Wade) is determined to bravely seek help outside Cob, in the big city of Tampa, to save the golden ears. Wade has just the right mix of Moxy and sweetness. She leaves her fiancee, Beau (Jake Odmark), right before the wedding. In Tampa, she meets the con man and podiatrist cheekily listed as a “corn doctor” Gordy (Quinn VanAntwerp). Maizy brings Gordy to Cob County. Beau sees Gordy as a rival. We see him as shades of Harold Hill in The Music Man. Mike Nappi, as Peanut Beau’s brother, with his puns, off-color quips, and dad jokes, is a hoot. Maya Langerstam is storyteller one. She projects well and has a contagious exuberance, which the audience loved. Storyteller Two Tyler Joseph Ellis is a charismatic, personable, delightful narrator. Erick Pinnick portrays the sweet Grampa. He has impressive moves and an adroit, droll delivery.
Scenic Designer Tony Award nominee Scott Pask has masterfully recreated an amazing barn onstage. Japhy Weideman’s lighting enhances every scene. Tilly Grimes’s costume and Mia Neal’s wig design complement the characters perfectly. Sarah O’Gelby’s hilarious corn husk dance captures her brilliant, delightful, and joyous choreography. Stephen Kopel’s casting is admirable. Sound Designer John Shivers, a Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee, effectively creates the right moods and emotions with his auditory prowess.
The gorgeous, opulent, historical 1800-seat CIBC Theatre at 18 West Monroe is an ironic venue for Shucked. The theatre opened in 1906 as the Majestic for the best vaudeville performers. In the 1940s, it was known as the Sam Schubert and later the Private Bank Theatre, among other names. The renowned architects Edmund R. Krause and the Rapp Brothers (George and Cornelius) designed the theatre for an elite, high-society crowd.
SHUCKED is recommended for ages 10+. It contains adult themes, moments of adult language, and a harvest of corny innuendo. All persons entering the theater must have a ticket, regardless of age. The show schedule is Tuesday through Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 11th and 18th, there is a matinee at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, January 12th and 19th, there is a 1:00 p.m. matinee. On Sunday the 12th, there is a 6:30 p.m. show.
Broadway in Chicago partners with InterPark 17 East Adams 0.2 miles, a less than 5-minute walk from the CIBC, to provide discounts to theatre guests. Discounts are available for advance online purchases. Pre-paid parking passes are valid starting 3 hours before the performance start time and last 12 hours from the start of the reservation. CLICK HERE to purchase in advance!
Photos: Courtesy of Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman, Broadway in Chicago
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