Little Lark of London

Shucked is a musical about corn. Yes, you read that right. With a book by Robert Horn and music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnnaly, Shucked is a show that is bringing some much-needed joy to Broadway in the unexpected form of a vegetable. Directed by Jack O’Brien, two narrators, Storyteller 1 (Ashely D. Kelley) and Storyteller 2 (Grey Henson) tell the story of Cob County, a small town where the diverse pilgrims went to hide from persecution, growing the corn “as high as an elephant’s eye” so that no one would disturb them. It’s a “farm to fable” story in which the storytellers allow the characters to take over, only interrupting in between numbers and scenes to add their own thoughts on the tale. 

Isabelle McCalla stars as Maizy, a girl who has grown up in Cob County and has never seen the rest of the world. She’s meant to marry her childhood friend, Beau (Andrew Durand), but when the corn begins to die, she decides to go past the corn fields and find someone who can help them save the crop. McCalla is an absolute delight as Maizy, playing her with naivety but still with a strong sense of right and wrong, making for a complicated character who is able to grow throughout the show. Maizy joins forces with Gordy (John Behlmann), a conman who takes on a very Music Man-esque con as a “corn doctor” in order to steal precious rocks from Cob County. Behlmann is hilarious, reacting as any person might into being dragged into a world entirely based on corn from his life in Tampa, Florida. 

Durand also has some great one-liners as the distraught Beau, including one of my favourite lines in the show, “She died doing what she loved . . . Making toast in the bathtub.” While Alex Newell was out as Lulu, Rheaume Crenshaw did a stellar job making the role her own, bringing an incredible amount of sass to the character and making her a fierce challenger to Gordy and his flirtiness. The rest of the ensemble, Jimmy Brewer, Audrey Cardwell, Dwayne Clark,  Traci Elain Lee, Yasmeen Sulieman, Quinn Vanatwerp – are all equally energetic and fantastic, making Cob County feel like a real community full of love and friendship, even in moments of tension. 

Kevin Cahoon has the funniest moments in the show as Peanut, Beau’s brother, who tends to start sentences with “I think . . .” and end them with the most bizarre and unexpected things, including “People in China must wonder what to call their good plates” and “If you have time to jump in front of a bullet for someone, they have time to move,” leading to both groans and laughs from the audience. Storyteller 2 is a close second in terms of one-liners and puns, typically exiting scenes with comments like “It doesn’t take a cow smoking a joint to see how high the stakes are” and “Like the lazy dentist said, brace yourself.”

The set, designed by Scott Pask, is absolutely gorgeous, with everything taking place within a barn-like setting, characters climbing in and out of windows and going through wooden doors all around the two levels of the set. Much of the set is used throughout the show, with choreographer Sarah O’Gleby having the performers dance all around the stage in high-energy numbers. There are also quite a few props involved in musical numbers, including in impressive moment in which Durand balances on a row of whiskey barrels and dances around with the men of the town. Costume Designer Tilly Grimes has made excellent costumes that go well with the set, bringing in the country vibe but slowly mixing in some more city-like clothing for Gordy and Maizy in Tampa and later in the show. Both the lights, designed by Japhy Weidman, and the sound, designed by John Shivers, only enhance the show and the performers and I found no issues with either of them. 

Ultimately, Shucked is a delightful musical that deserves much longer than the time it has been given on Broadway. I wish it the best of luck with its national tour and hope to see it gain more recognition. Like the audience member next to me said to her friend, “It’s so stupid. I love it!” To be honest, I couldn’t have put it better myself!

Shucked runs at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway in New York until 14 January but will be going on a national tour starting in the fall of 2024. Tickets for the rest of the Broadway run can be purchased here.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman