Interview: Danielle Wade of SHUCKED at Proctors

Danielle Wade is lighting up the stage as Maizy in the national tour of SHUCKED, bringing her signature charm and powerhouse vocals to audiences across the country. Best known for winning the “Over the Rainbow” TV reality competition and starring as Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE WIZARD OF OZ, Wade has built an impressive career spanning Broadway (MEAN GIRLS), national tours, and regional theater. With her sharp comedic timing and heartfelt performances, she’s proving once again why she’s a standout talent in musical theater. I had the chance to chat with her about life on tour and the joy of performing in SHUCKED.

BroadwayWorld: Morning, Danielle! How's everything going?

Danielle Wade: It's good. We're just out here on the road, enjoying it.

BWW: We're excited to have you up here in Schenectady next week. Let’s start with what first inspired you to start performing?

DW: Oh man, when I was young, I was pretty shy as a little kid. And I would sing around the house, but my grandma ended up buying me singing lessons for my 13th birthday. I started singing and getting louder and being more confident. And then eventually I auditioned for the play in my high school in grade 9 – and I didn't get in at all, which is kind of impressive because, in my tiny little farm town in Ontario, [Canada] everybody got in, but I didn't. And then I practiced and practiced all year, and we did GREASE next year and I got to be Sandy. It was a big turnaround. But I realized, “Oh! You can work and you can get better and you can try harder.” It doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to win, but you're going to be prouder of yourself. I felt like I had worked very hard all year. Not that I “deserved it,” but I tried my best.

BWW: That's a great lesson to learn early on, too. Prior to SHUCKED, what have been some of your favorite roles?

DW: My first ever job was THE WIZARD OF OZ, Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production. That was now 10 years ago, but that was my first job ever. I turned 20 on the road! And then, I just did the MEAN GIRLS first national tour as Cady, and that was very special one. My husband [Will Branner] was actually in that with me, which is crazy.

BWW: Who did he play?

DW: He was Glen Coco. “You go Glen Coco.” And he covered Aaron and Damien.

BWW: Well, that leads me right into my next question: this is not your first rodeo or your first tour -  but this is your first tour being married! What has that been like?

It has been so oddly different than I thought it would be. I now have this human living in a different place who I love very much. He comes out to visit, but he's a working actor, too. We knew what we signed up for! We plan our visits and we're always thinking two months ahead about the next time we get to see each other. We're honestly doing really well. We're both enjoying it very much and enjoying our time and the things that we're doing. I also have a very wonderful group of people here that makes it a lot easier.

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED
(Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

BWW: How familiar were you with SHUCKED before being cast?

DW: I had seen the final dress of the Broadway show with my agent and, at intermission, I turned to him and I was like, “How do I play that part? I’ve got to.” And he was like, “You gotta play that part!” I thought that Caroline Innerbichler, who played it on Broadway, was just so, so beautiful and perfect. She ended up leaving the show and I auditioned for the replacement on Broadway – and then I ended up here!

BWW: So for people who aren't familiar with SHUCKED, how would you describe the show to them?

DW: Oh man. It's the hardest part of my job! It essentially is about a town entirely encased in corn. And my character, Maisy, is about to get married, and in the middle of the wedding, the corn starts to die and I call the wedding off. And I decide I'm gonna leave this place that no one has ever left to go save the corn! If you boil it down, it's like Moana – but about corn. [laughs] It is SO funny: there are 180-something jokes.

BWW: And how do you keep up with the comedic timing and energy every night?

DW: I mean, we all love doing it! That's a huge part of it. Every person that's up there wants to be there and is having the best time, which is so impressive. We’re Olympians of comedy at this point, and each state responds so differently – even cities within the same state have different sense of humor. The size of the house really affects the show, too. When it's a big old theater you have to be a little bit bigger. Or if we have smaller houses that more mirror the Nederlander where the show was in New York, you can settle back into a more realistic performance. It's just very fluid all the time. And the audience is such a big part of the show! It's just a fun roller coaster every evening.

Danielle Wade as Maizy and Miki Abraham as Lulu in The North American Tour of SHUCKED (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

BWW: Do you have any fun stories from the road yet? I know you've been on tour for almost five months now?

DW: Yeah, there's so many silly things that have happened. The cutest thing is that our Gordy [Quinn Vanantworp] and one of our swings [Mackenzie Bell] are married and they have their 2 year old on the road with them. She brings a lot of joy to everybody on the road. We have a little “corn child” that we all take care of. It makes it feel like real life too. But there are so many silly things. We laugh every night. We break all the time…it's not very professional. [laughs]

BWW: What's your favorite moment in the show? Either performing or watching from backstage?

DW: Oooh. I mean, everyone loves anything Peanut (the character) does. And Mike Nappi is SO different from Kevin Cahoon, who played it in New York, in the most endearing, wonderful way. They are just so, so different from one another. It's a different show because of it. Kevin came to see our show and he's was like, “This is beautiful. How wonderful that this thing we created has a whole new life.” Anything Peanut says is great – any joke…even just his faces are good! I also really love singing “I Do” every night, the quartet number. Shane [McAnally] and Brandy [Clark] who wrote the songs just kind of knocked it out of the park! They’re Grammy Award-winning songwriters, so it makes sense – but the songs are so good! It's not really hard to sing every night when they're excellent songs. And my favorite joke in the whole show? “What would your momma say if she were alive right now?” And I reply, “Get me out of this box!” I think it’s so stupid and funny.

BWW: Last question: if you could give Maisy any advice, what would you tell her?

DW: You know, it's crazy. I wouldn't give her advice. She's so much braver than I am. And she makes mistakes and then learns from them. I think that's so admirable. She doesn't always make the right choice, but she's trying constantly. I think that is something that I would take from her. She's gonna make a bad decision – and you're gonna make a bad decision in your life. You have to keep going or apologize. I think it's impressive to be fearless, in that sense. Or you be afraid and do it anyway.

BWW: Thank you for sharing your time with me! Enjoy the rest of your week in South Carolina, and we’ll see you next week in Schenectady!

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