Interview: Tony Winner Robert Horn on His New Broadway-Bound Musical SHUCKED

According to the official, and quite accurate, description of the Broadway-bound musical SHUCKED, currently playing at Pioneer Theatre Company, "What do you get when you pair a semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville? A hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical about the one thing Americans everywhere can't get enough of: corn.

"SHUCKED is the new musical comedy that proves sometimes tearing down a few walls, rather than growing them, is the only way to preserve our way of life. With an outrageously funny book by Tony Award-winner Robert Horn, an irresistible score by Grammy Award-winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and direction by three-time Tony Award-winner Jack O'Brien, SHUCKED is about to turn Broadway on its ear and offer a kernel of hope for our divided nation."

The "semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer" Robert Horn won a Tony for TOOTSIE, adapted his own book of the musical 13 for its Netflix adaptation, and has written a number of television projects, including TEEN BEACH MOVIE and TEEN BEACH 2. Generous and genuinely funny, he recently spoke with BroadwayWorld about his involvement in this new project.

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What makes SHUCKED so special that such an acclaimed creative team and cast wanted to be part of it?

There's usually two reasons people are drawn to a project...the story and/or the storytellers. Or money. But it's theatre so we'll take that out of the equation. The story we the authors set out to tell with SHUCKED seemed to connect with other artists. We collected this quirky, disparate group of breathtakingly talented people along the way, who then collected other artists and artisans, all who fused with the tone and message of the story and felt compelled to contribute their gifts and be a part of our little comedy community. Every time I start a new show I say; "Lord don't move that mountain, just give me the strength to climb it." I'm still pinching myself when I think about the pedigree of talent I am surrounded by every day as we scale this behemoth peak called a musical.

What can you tell us about the long development and evolution of the show?

What I can tell and will tell is part of the fun. Basically, it started with Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and I being brought together on a different project the composers and I did back in 2015 called MOONSHINE. That project had its life, then ended, then the three of us decided to start completely over to create an original story. The entire story, tone, musical palette, creative team, everything evolved as we developed this new idea over some six years, all led by the relentless visionary producer Mike Bosner, who believed in what we wanted to say and knew this was the right time for this new idea.

As the world around us started to shift in dramatic ways, we wanted this original story to reflect our complicated feelings about what we were seeing, because we knew we couldn't be the only ones feeling this. We wanted it to be a fable, a morality tale, something funny yet moving, simple yet thoughtful, with a wink and an edge. Something relatable in different ways to different people. What is finally on that stage is a story about how we all have the gift of heroism inside us, about learning to open our hearts to those who are different than us so that growth can happen... personal growth, communal growth, global growth, and for us, artistic growth.

How have you worked with the composers to integrate the book and songs together?

There's a line in the show that says: "Folks say things happen for a reason. I think people happen for a reason." That's how I feel about Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, who are two of the finest storytellers I've ever had the honor of working with. Truly. Listen to any of their albums or trillions of hits, and you'll see. They write lives, not songs. Plus, they are hysterical. It was important in the telling of this story that the book, music, and lyrics lived in the same world. As proud queer artists, we all three instantly connected on our very diverse personal journeys. They were so generous in letting me be part of their creative sympatico. We knew the story we wanted to tell and collectively wrote and rewrote together. Sometimes a scene came first, sometimes a song, sometimes all at once. As full of joy and humor as the show is, the writing sessions were even more so. I never look a gifted horse in any orifice, but Shane and Brandy are a gift to any writer. I was just the lucky one to receive it, and we are all the luckier for them dipping their musical toes in our waters.

What has it been like working with Jack O'Brien and this cast to bring your book to life?

Jack O'Brien is a legend and a leader. Mic drop. His vision, his kindness, his humor, his instinct, his generosity, his creativity and his tenacity are unmatched. He respects the work, then elevates it. Plus, the stories he regales you with are divine. He insists on collaboration, between he and the writers, the writers and the cast, the entire creative team. He believed in this little show from the first hello and refused to allow anyone else to direct it but him! Jack will always make you feel more gifted than you are, and that is only one of his boundless gifts.

Every show I work on is a collaboration between the writing, and the casts instincts and input. TOOTSIE was the same...we built that show together. Here, this talented cast has been invaluable in creating the fictional world and inhabiting each character that lives in it. Also, if they say something funny, it goes into the show. I just get credit for it. It sounds like a contrived thing to say, but I SO love this cast, their energy and intuition, and I feel blessed that I get to witness them make a story out of my scribbles. Hey, writing theater is like slipping on a banana peel, it doesn't always fit. This cast just seemed to fit.

What kinds of changes are being made during this final rehearsal process?

The shorter list is the one of things not changing. Every musical has enough problems to start a podcast. You futz, you try, you explore, and even if it takes you back to your original place, you use the time you have - which is never enough - to see what roads are best, even if that road takes you back to where you started. None of it is easy and you hope you do your best and that people respond to it. As we always ask in theater: "how many vultures circling you is good luck?"

What is the outlook for the show to transfer to Broadway?

Does anyone still use Outlook?

What similarities and differences are there between SHUCKED and TOOTSIE?

I guess the main similarity is that I wrote them both. I love comedy that comes from heightened drama--from desperate situations seen through a prism of funny. Both shows have that at their cores. Both are driven by character. Also, both shows have/had incredible casts bringing then to life, and brilliant composers, also directors who know comedy. Who 'think' funny. The differences? Shucked is more of a fable that looks at the delicacy of humanity. TOOTSIE was more of a love letter to theater which looked at our personal demons and how our actions affect others. Both have protagonists that are put into a desperate situation, plus both have one-word titles, so there's that!

What was it like to adapt your book of the musical 13 to the screen?

It was like going to a family reunion and seeing a completely different family. But it was great to go. Also, it was challenging to adapt it to reflect a world and youth culture that had changed and progressed so much in 14 years. Working in film takes a different artistic mindset, and an ability to work with a very different kind of corporate structure. We shot that during the height of Covid, and it was fun to be locked away with JRB for three months, just eating and writing and laughing.

Why is this production of SHUCKED a not-to-be-missed event for audiences?

Well for one, it's live theatre. That is NEVER to be missed! Plus, I'm convinced people are ready to laugh again after some challenging times. I think people don't want a lecture about humanity, they want a story about it. I never like when people say the show they write is "laugh out loud funny" because no one works on a show thinking it sucks. But I know if the fun we had putting it together translates to the stage, then the audience is in for a joyous night of theater.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Look, I'm not particularly brave. I'll be the corpse found in the parking lot of Mount Everest. But there's a degree of bravery to putting your heart and soul out there for an audience to see. I hope the bravery and heart of everyone connected to this musical connects with everyone who sees it. And as I always say, leave them wanting

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SHUCKED plays through November 12, 2022. For tickets, call the box office at 801-581-6961 or visit www.pioneertheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Photos by Emilio Madrid

 

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