Review: SHUCKED at The Hippodrome

Theatre can be illustrative, informative, relevant, educational, emotional, edifying and useful as commentary on current events, past history, and predictive of the future. And sometimes, it’s just a damn funny good time with no redeeming social value whatsoever, and you don’t care because you’re so busy laughing your ass off. The latter is the case with “Shucked.”

“Shucked” premiered on Broadway in 2022 and only played for a scant 10 months, but its run garnered nine Tony nominations and scored a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ win for Alex Newell, one of only two non-binary actors to ever achieve such acclaim. The reviews ran the gamut from rave to rip, sometimes referring to the corny tapestry of one-liners, sometimes achingly poignant, and sometimes just plain silly tunes as ‘cornography’ - gotta love that word. While much was made at the time of the groundbreaking star-turn of Mr. Newell playing the female Lulu, what was most innovative was the fact that there was no mention of the non-binary aspect of the performance, nor was there any need to.

With a book by Robert Horn and music and lyrics by country music writers Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, this ode to mid-western corn culture (if there is such a thing) seems never to take itself too seriously, which is one of the reasons it works as well as it does. And with a plot about as deep as a cookie sheet, the writers have seasoned the story with some stock characters straight out of Hee Haw, if you’re old enough to remember that hoary old TV show. Young’uns, Google it. We’ll wait here for you.

Set in fictional Cobb County, “Shucked” tells the story of a small farming town that exists solely on the locally produced corn. When the crops start dying, our plucky little hero, Maizey (gotta love the name), interrupts her wedding rehearsal and, despite the objections of her xenophobic beau, Beau, and her Best Friend and cousin, Lulu, sets off for the metropolis of Tampa to find some help. Don’t ask, just stay with me here, OK? I didn’t write it so I can’t explain it, but the laughs keep you from thinking too hard about the logic. Anyhoo, while in Tampa, she spies a sign over a shop in a strip mall that says ‘Corn Doctor.’ Not realizing it refers to a con artist who specializes in ripping off people with a fake cure for corns (on the feet, not the field) she explains to him her mission to save her county’s corn fields. Being the grifting opportunist that he is, Gordy finds out the town sits on a bed of what he thinks is a precious jewel, so he goes with her false interpretation of his profession and promises to save the corn, but he’s really after the jewels.

Once they arrive back in Cob County, Gordy tricks the town into thinking he can save the corn and pretends to fall in love with Maizy to get his hands on her property, but he actually falls for the no-nonsense cousin Lulu. Ex-boyfriend Beau suspects the con all along but vows to get his girl back. It’s Broadway, folks, so the inevitable Happy Ending, after two hours of non-stop yuks and corn jokes, comes as no surprise and is pretty satisfying.     

Writer Robert Horn has said he wanted to write about the themes of divisiveness he witnessed in his personal life. I’m not totally on board that he managed to do that, but I don’t care. It’s a damn funny, not too deep story told by some amazingly talented folks with a down home, corn pone sensibility that is pure entertainment. As a writer for such successful TV comedies as ‘Designing Women,’ and ‘Living Single,’ he blends his Brooklyn-born Jewishness with a Southern gentility (he’s married to a gentleman from the South) to poke fun at both the intelligentsia and the rural good ol’ boys and creates hilarious characters who actually have more to say than meets the ear. (Get it? Ear? Corn? – oh, never mind.)

The creatives responsible for the book (Mr. Horn), music and lyrics (Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally) racked up a slew of impressive nominations and deservedly won a good many. Scott Pask’s scenic design, Tilly Grimes’ costumes, and Japhy Weideman’s lights all contributed to the overall experience on stage. One note to the Hippodrome’s sound engineers: the orchestra sometimes overpowers the actors and makes the lyrics difficult to understand. Fixing the balance between the two components would greatly add to the audience’s enjoyment.

Jack O’Brien stages the slick production deftly. His three Tonys were obviously well-deserved and no surprise that he was also nominated for “Shucked.” I also loved all of the clever choreography in this production. Sarah O’Gleby gets more mileage out of corn cobs than I would have thought possible. I can only imagine the hours of rehearsal it took to get the timing down. All of the vocals, even on the songs that were difficult to decipher the words to, were outstanding as well.

The main characters were well cast and I am hard pressed to name a favorite or a standout, but if you insist, I have to say it was Miki Abraham’s Lulu. Her genuine accent from Paducah, Kentucky, a voice that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up in the best possible sense, and her spot-on comedic timing were a sheer delight.

Another favorite standout was Peanut, played by Mike Nappi. One of my colleagues described him as ‘a fraction of a half-wit’, but he has by far the most wisdom and the best one-liners of the night. A small sample would include:

“If I had a crystal ball, I’d probably walk different.”

"Brother, remember when we were kids, building sand castles with grandma---until grandpa told us to put her back in the urn."

“I just passed a squirrel. Funny, I don’t remember eating one.”

This guy had the audience in stitches all night, and if he ever does a stand-up act, I’m buying a ticket. Great delivery, a rubber face, and an innocence that makes you wanna give him a cookie.

All three of the other leads, along with the uber-talented Storyteller 1 (Maya Lagerstam) and Storyteller 2 (Tyler Joseph Ellis) singing/dancing narrators were fabulous. Jake Odmark, with his golden voice and movie star good looks is a corn-fed natural. And I am in awe of Danielle Wade. She sings like an angel, gorgeous and funny as all get-out.

I know these are some of the darkest and most dangerous days in our lifetimes. With despair and desperation haunting so many people on the planet, thank the powers that be for letting us forget all that for a couple of hours and wallow in the shallows of some good old fashioned corn porn. To quote another favorite show of mine, ‘ain’t nothing dirty goin’ on.’ And there didn’t need to be. When it’s this funny, with this much amazing talent on stage, just relax and enjoy the corny ride.

Shucked runs through April 6th, 2025 at The Hippodrome, 12 North Eutaw Street, Baltimore, MD. Click here for information and tickets.