Shucked is a Hilarious Reminder of the Purpose of Theatre - Lowell Voight

When I got ready on January 6th to see the “corn musical” at the Orpheum Theatre, I was not expecting to experience one of the most moving moments of my life. Going into this musical, I knew Shucked was a comedy, but it wasn’t until I had been laughing non-stop for the first 20 or so minutes that I realized: the comedy is the entire point of the show. As a current citizen of both the USA as well as the state of Minnesota, I believe that this show is exactly what the world needs right now. 

Shucked follows a town that is in desperate need of help after their corn crops begin drying up. Since corn is the sole provider of food, economic activity, and fashionable disguises, soon-to-be wed Maizy leaves the small town to find help from an outsider. The town of Cobb County was an incredibly fun setting due to the unifying denim of the costumes made by designer Tilly Grimes, as well as the punchy choreography by SNL and The Tonight Show choreographer Sarah O’Gleby. Some of the most stand-out musical numbers were “Best Man Wins” and “Corn” because of their use of the electrifying ensemble. While I would have loved even more use of the ensemble, just those numbers alone had hilarious moments like the cob kick-line and drunken partying in the bar. 

This production of Shucked was eye-watering, stomach-hurting, and face-flushing levels of funny. While the show was drowned in corn puns, most of the humor that got the biggest audience reactions were jokes about empowerment. Whether it be feminism and the calling out of traditional gender dynamics, politically aware jokes that made the whole theater shake in laughter, and yes… even plenty of lewd jokes, Shucked’s humor constantly was made to be not only a fun storytelling device, but a crucial part of the characters. This production effortlessly took this show’s humor to the next level. Bits in the show like Peanut's “I think” monologues (honestly most of Peanut’s lines) would not have gotten as large of a reaction as they did without actor Mike Nappi’s squealy, cracky voice; and Maizy’s comedic critiques of Beau's misogyny would not have gotten their well-deserved applauses without actress Danielle Wade’s confident delivery. 

Not only did the comedy serve a purpose to the story and characters, it served a purpose to the very audience watching. In previous times of tragedy for America, Broadway comedies have remained a constant source of escapism and joy to theater audiences. When violent attacks are happening in the very town that I saw Shucked in the other night, as well as all across the country that this show is touring in, it seems more important now than it has in possibly decades to have comedic shows running, let alone comedies that use their humor to call out the issues that are tearing the United States apart. Just based on the volume of laughter in the Orpheum Theatre that night, I believe almost anyone who goes to this show will have non-stop fun.