Review: SHUCKED at Peace Center

Broadway is so back. That's right, theatre kids: Shucked is a completely 100% original, non-GMO Broadway musical with both book and score being all new. Fortunately, at least those seem to be having a bit of a resurgence this season in New York. As to whether Shucked is shiny as well as new, talented comedians and a creative team running the gamut from country-music songwriters and New York vets, make the national tour that popped in for a run at the Peace Center is a pleasant funny evening, plain and simple.

Fortunately for such a new work that most will not yet know. Shucked has two Storytellers be your guide. The first of these is played by Interlochen alum Maya Lagerstam, who is superb. She infuses her performance with a delightfully wispy, skittish energy that is sure to endear any audience. Comedy can be deceptively tricky, but Lagerstam nails it here.

The second but equally hilarious Storyteller is Tyler Joseph Ellis (The Sex Lives of College Girls). Although he’s a TikTok sensation with over 340 thousand followers, it would be a gross understatement to say Ellis was, in fact, born for the stage. Bold and puckish, he’s a natural lead. Nothing more than that has to be said about any performance compelling enough that the actors choices are noticed even in scenes where they’re just in the background.

All this begs the question, what story are the Storytellers telling? Without spoiling too much, it centers around heroine Maizy and her fiance Beau, who live in rural Cob County. Danielle Wade (Mean Girls, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz) is the leading lady, and an interesting one, keeping you rooting for Maizy through every twist and turn. At this particular evening, understudy (and brand new graduate—congrats!) Jackson Goad brought clarion vocals to the role of Beau, with his two solos making him a major standout.

There are also a few supporting, but by no means small, characters to meet along this ride. There’s Beau’s brother Peanut (Mike Nappi) who’s not the sharpest tool in the shed; then you have Maizy’s cousin Lulu (Miki Abraham, of Shucked’s original Broadway cast) who's most likely the sharpest tool in any shed. Two very different characters, but both with a bevy of clever one-liners. Then of course there’s also the solo where Abraham brings down the house as one only can in a role originated by groundbreaking Tony-winner Alex Newell.

The music for Lulu, or any character, does itself the favor of not taking itself too seriously. Written by the Grammy-winning duo of Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, the mostly conventional Broadway score, with only a gentle twang, shows a deftness of touch and doesn’t take itself too seriously. That is, like any good country music should, it focuses utterly on direct storytelling.

Shucked is definitely corny in all the best ways. Tony-winning director Jack O’Brien (Hairspray, The Sound of Music national tour) brings an air of heart without treacle to the production. If you like an honest-to-goodness musical—and a stupid pun—Shucked will have you grinning from ear to ear.

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