Shucked: Comedy on the Cob by Huxley Westemeier

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

I saw Shucked on Tuesday, January 6, 2026 (opening night) at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. I was expecting corny jokes, a corny setting, and corny everything. After all, it’s in the name! While it’s true that Shucked is incredibly cheesy (or corn-y?), it doesn’t pretend to be something it's not and fully commits. What surprised me most is how this touring production hits the balance between including genuinely funny moments while also feeling comforting and predictable. In this cold and icy Minnesota winter, a warm bowl of corn pudding could be exactly what we need.

I won’t sugar coat that the plot is predictable. Set in Cob County, a small uptight town where corn is the primary focus, the show kicks into action when crops at the same time Maizy (nice name) and Beau are about to be married. Maizy leaves to find help in Tampa. She returns with “corn doctor” Gordy, has a brief affair, and chaos ensues. It’s hard not to be reminded of The Music Man here: a charming sleazy salesman arrives in town, the community is rightfully suspicious, but by the final curtain we've all learned a few life lessons. Shucked’s book by Robert Horn (Tootsie) follows that stereotypical path, but allows for many corn-themed jokes and a handful of well-written songs.

Miki Abraham (Beautiful) was a standout as Lulu, the cousin of Maizy who runs a whiskey distillery. She shocked the audience during “Independently Owned,” where she somehow managed to show nearly two octaves of vocal range with grit and power while moving around the stage brewing whiskey. Danielle Wade (Mean Girls) as Maizy was earnest if bland, and Quinn VanAntwerp (Jersey Boys) played slick Gordy as a believable spinster without being overly cartoonish. A huge shout out to Mike Nappi (Life & Slimes) as Peanut, the “comedic relief,” who hit dad joke after dad joke to raucous applause.

From a design perspective, Shucked doesn’t have much to explore: there’s a simple slanted cornfield and barnhouse set by Scott Pask (Mean Girls) that sets the environment, and the costumes by Tilly Grimes (The Thanksgiving Play) consist of mainly denim and plaid. There is a wonderful moment where the corn rows rotated to form a massive “Welcome to Tampa” postcard, and ensemble members emerged wearing neon golfer/vacationer outfits. It’s always nice when all of the design elements converge together to land a joke!

I won’t pretend that Shucked has a deep message to discuss on the ride home. But, it reminded me of a toned-down Book of Mormon: it’s fast, jokes are everywhere, it’s occasionally inappropriate, but isn’t as offensive as other comedies. There is some adult language and strong innuendo however, so I wouldn’t recommend it to a family audience.

Yet Shucked doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. It’s bright, it’s silly, contains a truly standout performance in Lulu (I’m still humming “Independently Owned”), and has enough laughs to make the experience worthwhile, which we can all use in Minnesota in January. I’d insert a corn joke here, but that’d be butter left unsaid.