Review: SHUCKED National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center

Shucked is a completely original musical set in the fictional Cob County. It tells an audacious farm-to-fable tale about the one thing Americans everywhere can't get enough of: corn. This project was partially derived from one of book writer Robert Horn's earlier projects, 2015's Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical. Originally, the show was scheduled for a run in late 2020 at The National Theatre in Washington, D.C. Yet it was subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19.

After undergoing rewrites during the pandemic, Shucked had its world premiere at the Pioneer Memorial Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah. It later opened on March 8th, 2023 at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway. The production received 9 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical) and closed on January 14th, 2024 after 327 performances.

I’ve never seen an episode of Hee Haw (it was simply before my time), but it’s easy to see how this musical was inspired by TV variety shows of that era. Even though the story has a through line, each scene is presented as if they’re a series of sketches, and it works. Kudos to Robert Horn, who’s no stranger to TV sitcoms from having written episodes of Designing Women and Living Single, for pulling that off. The score by country music songwriters Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally is very tuneful and brought to life by Jason Howland’s authentic orchestrations. Director Jack O’Brien provides such clever staging in Scott Pask’s neatly designed barnhouse set while Sarah O’Gleby provides such rowdy choreography.

This show is very much an ensemble piece, and everyone delivers. Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis both play the ‘Storytellers,’ and they make for quite a fun duo not only narrating, but also playing different characters throughout. Danielle Wade gives such a winning performance as Maizy, a spunky young girl who’s actually the main character. As her Best Friend and cousin, Lulu, Miki Abraham has a standout moment with their big Act I solo, ‘Independently Owned,’ which truly brings the house down. At the performance I attended, Quinn VanAntwerp was out as Gordy, a doctor Maizy meets in Tampa, Florida, so Jackson Goad went on for him, and he has impeccable comic timing. Mike Nappi is also a comedic highlight as Peanut. One of his jokes in Act I (which couldn’t be more relevant to the times we’re living in) really had the audience applauding. Jake Odmark is great as Beau, the straight one in the plot.

Oddly enough, this show kind of reminded me of Come From Away. Mainly in how important community can be in our daily lives. Every character in Cob County is there for one another. In a world where there is always something serious and cynical going on, we could always use something light. Shucked successfully checks all those boxes and brings joy to the audience perfectly.

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