Review: SHUCKED National Tour Presented by Broadway In Chicago

SHUCKED is a corny musical...in the best way possible. Book writer Robert Horn and composer team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally’s lyrics are chock-full (or should I say husk-full?) of puns, double entendres, and cringey punchlines. I was grinning ear-to-ear (of corn). SHUCKED is joyful, creative, and fun. 

I went into SHUCKED blind — with the exception of having heard the big hit “Independently Owned” — and that’s a great way to experience the show. You don’t need to know much about the plotting. While the comedy’s creative, the plotting’s extremely conventional — it’s a musical comedy meets prototypical hero’s journey. Set in the fictional town of Cob County — with narration from two leading Storytellers — SHUCKED focuses on young Maizy (intentionally punny name) who ventures to big city Tampa to save the town’s dying corn — much to the dismay of her fiancé Beau and her cousin/Best Friend Lulu. Maizy meets the show’s villain/Harold Hill stand-in Gordy in Tampa, who sees an opportunity to strike it rich in Cob County with false promises of saving the town’s corn. You can guess how it ends up, but it’s all the puns and jokes along the way that make SHUCKED special. 

SHUCKED is full of musical theater and pop culture references ranging from OKLAHOMA!’s corn “as high as an elephant”s eye” to the viral “It’s corn! It’s got the juice!” reel from a few years ago. Even though some audiences might find the jokes cheesy, Horn’s clever insertion of all these references into the book is undeniable. 

SHUCKED relies on commitments to the bit and comedic timing to sell it — and that this touring ensemble does. Danielle Wade is plucky as Maizy, and she adopts a consistent Southern accent throughout the show. Wade gives Maizy a delightful Southern twang, even while singing. It’s a great touch that emphasizes the character’s naivete and corn-fed upbringing. As Gordy, Quinn VanAntwerp is a good counterpart. Gordy has a “You’ve Got Trouble” -style patter song in the finale, and Vanantwerp understands the assignment. Jake Odmark plays the veritable straight man as Beau, but he has a real sense of humor in his conveyance of Beau’s bravado. I deeply enjoyed Mike Nappi’s take on Peanut, Beau’s “simple” brother. Nappi played the role of ditz well and gave Peanut real integrity. His character has a few extended monologues in which he reveals some truths, and the right delivery is key. Gems include lines like “I think when it says the movie’s based on a true story, it really happened...just with uglier people.” It’s hard to pull off that kind of cringe comedy, but Nappi gets it. Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis have a real Abbott and Costello vibe as Storytellers 1 and 2. SHUCKED isn’t the first musical to have these kinds of narrators, but the concept of two Storytellers presenting the show’s fable fits extremely well with the show’s personality. Lastly, Miki Abraham is easily winsome in the powerhouse role of Lulu. Abraham delivers the show-stopper “Independently Owned” with flair and proof that Lulu’s the sass master in town. 

I enjoyed SHUCKED overall, but the songs range from immensely creative — like the energetic opening number “Corn” — to lots of more conventionally written ballads. Director Jack O’Brien moves the show along at a nice pace, but there’s also a lot of “stand and sing” moments for Maizy and Beau (mostly while they deliver mopey ballads about one another). Wade and Odmark deliver them well, but the staging isn’t dynamic. Likewise, SHUCKED is light on dancing. Choreographer Sarah O’Gleby has orchestrated movement patterns for the most part more so than dance numbers. That didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but this isn’t a dancey show. 

I honestly haven’t laughed out loud this much at a musical in a long time. I love puns so SHUCKED’s cleverness and general “cheap shots” at humor worked well for me. The show is unique in its concept and focus on its central crop. And it seems only fitting that a musical called SHUCKED would be corny. For musical theater fun, SHUCKED has me all ears. 

The Broadway In Chicago engagement of SHUCKED runs through January 19 at the CIBC Theatre, 18 West Monroe Street. Tickets are $35.00-$130.00 with a select number of premium tickets available; a digital lottery for $25 seats is available for all performances, as are $49 day-of-show rush tickets at the box office.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

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