By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic
Following his 2019 Tony Award win for Tootsie, writer Robert Horn was offered several projects of his choosing, but none seemed more appropriate than reviving his concept of a musical relating to corn and simple country life.
Horn had set his sights prior in 2015 on a musical that never seemed to gel or set properly. It was called Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical and its concept was essentially pairing TV’s popular and long-running comedy “Hee Haw” with a number of songs relating to spirits distilled from corn. Although the project was scrapped, it did connect Horn with proven country and western music writers Brandy Clark and Shane McNally as the composers and lyricists.
Except for two songs that were held over, Shucked is the outcome of Horn, Clark and McNally having recognized the failings of their previous attempt, starting over and creating a new combination of “Hee Haw” with a musical that explores the human condition and modern relationships through the lens of Horn’s humor. And, yes, the comedy is intentionally corny.
Like the TV show on which it was based, the nature of the strong casting lends an ensemble feel to the work. While there are leading characters, the story focuses mostly on the community of folks representing the mythical and aptly-titled Cob County. Founded by Puritans who were insightful and community-minded many generations ago, the inclusive nature of Cob County is that everyone gets along with one another. In fact, the land they chose to live upon had no claim from any existing Native American tribe, making it a guilt-free association by today’s standards.
The musical starts with two Storytellers, Ashley D. Kelley and Grey Henson (Mean Girls), who revel in singing about the virtues of their hidden county’s famous crop in “Corn.” Kelley and Henson return from time to time to move the story along and break the fourth wall by engaing directly with the audience. Their opening number allows the two to chime in and expand on the other’s thoughts:
They turned it into alcohol!Yeah, that’s my favorite form!It’s mazola and it’s ethanolIt’s corn!
Isabelle McCalla plays Maizy, a woman looking to find herself outside the home she has known for so long. Andrew Durand is Beau, a simple-minded, down-to-earth boy next door. Beau has initial hopes to marry Maizy, but is forced to look into his own character with humorous consequences. While the two begin the show ostensibly as a committed couple, it’s not long before the vows they hoped to take go horribly awry at the altar as Cob County deals with a crisis regarding an unknown disease that has affected their present crop of corn.
Maizy flees her home to Tampa, Florida in search of a “corn doctor” from the outside world and finds Gordy, a podiatrist with a history of dealing with corns (ouch!). John Behlmann plays the con man as an opportunist and a rapscallion who sees the opportunity to return with Maizy to Cob County as part of a scheme that he believes will snag him riches and keep him ahead of some shady criminal types who are after him.
Alex Newell received a Tony Award nomination and eventual win for their role of Lulu, a no-nonsense and liberated woman who sees right through Gordy. The song “Independently Owned” is a highlight of the show as Newell treats the audience to terrific belting and an impressive stage presence that lingers even after leaving the stage.
Beau’s brother Peanut is Horn’s favorite character to introduce the audience to puns, groaners and corny jokes, all rendered with a straight face by Kevin Cahoon. Unlike his straight brother, Peanut, who might best be called simple-minded, appears to be queer, but living in Cob County, he just hasn’t gotten around to admitting it to himself. It’s a great comedy romp for Cahoon, who also received acknowledgment for his performance with a Tony Award nomination this past season.
While the storyline between Maizy and Beau takes two acts to resolve, the rest of the cast has hilarious times in support of the lead characters. In some cases, such as Act II’s opener “We Love Jesus,” they advance the story as an ensemble when they admit they “drink a little.”
There’s very little doubt that the inspiration for this song was left over from Moonshine, but it makes sense that corn, an essential ingredient for most every country still would be trumpeted for it…er…uh…medicinal properties.
For all of its hilarity and good natured fun, Shucked was unable to sustain a steady box office even with Newell’s Tony Award win as the first non-binary actor to win for Best Featured Role in a Musical and Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien’s tongue-in-cheek direction. Closing notices have been posted and will result in the show having had 28 previews and 327 performances at the time of its final show.
Shucked, directed by Jack O’Brien, plays at the Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st Street in New York. The show’s final performance will be on January 14. For tickets click here or call 212-921-8000. A national tour in 2024 has been announced, but dates have yet to be posted.