~ Tuesday, April 4th, 2023 was Opening Night for "Shucked" ~

BY DANNY McCARTHY
The Nederlander Theatre located at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City was formerly the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre.
Tuesday evening, April 4th, 2023 was Opening Night at The Nederlander Theatre of SHUCKED.

Cast: JOHN BEHLMANN, KEVIN CAHOON, ANDREW DURAND, GREY HENSON, CAROLINE INNERBICHLER, ASHLEY D. KELLEY, ALEX NEWELL and MiIKI ABRAHAM, JIMMY BREWER, AUDREY CARDWELL, DWAYNE CLARK, KEN WULF CLARK, RHEAUME CRENSHAW, TRACI ELAINE LEE, JAYGEE MACAPUGAY, SCOTT STRANGLAND, YASMEEN SULIEMAN, QUINN VanAntwerp, ALAN WIGGINS.
Creative: Book by ROBERT HORN; Music and lyrics by BRANDY CLARK and SHANE McANALLY; Directed by JACK O'BRIEN; Choreographed by SARAH O'GLEBY; Musical direction by JASON HOWLAND; Orchestrations and arrangements by JASON HOWLAND; Additional drum arrangements by CHRIS JAGO; Additional guitar arrangements by KEVIN RAMESSAR; Scenic design by SCOTT PASK; Costume design by TILLY GRIMES; Lighting design by JAPHY WEIDWMAN; Sound design by JOHN SHIVERS; Wig design by MIA NEAL; Production stage management by MICHAEL J. PASSARO; Casting by STEPHEN KOPEL C.S.A. and C12 CASTING.
Produced by MIKE BOSNER, JASON OWEN, AEG PRESENTS/JAY MARCIANO/GARY GERSH, JEFFREY A. SINE, RICHARD SMITH, SILVIA SCHMID, BOB BOYETT, JEREMIAH J. HARRIS, JAMES L. NEDERLANDER, KSO PRODUCTIONS, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, DudaAllen, KAREN FAIRCHILD, HoriPro, Inc., GORDON-HELFNER, JOHN GORE ORGANIZATION. MADISON WELLS LIVE, S&Co., TERRY SCHNUCK, JIMI WESTBROOK and ZKM MEDIA.
This sounds so seedy yet there is major hilarity involved especially since a kernel is involved. Country music comes into play YES into this musical comedy, which just might echo THE BOOK OF MORMON -{&}- TOOTSIE {which SHUCKED's book author ROBERT HORN adapted for the stage}. It seems in this peoduction, the seasonal crop of corn just might be realized as a second coming. There's a banjo-slinging score as SHUCKED has as its opening honky-tonk beats that take the audience to a town “somewhere north of south and south of north” as Cobb County, a place that’s proud of its obscurity. {Now this is where that veggie enters the picture -(&)- I'm a scene-your -(!!!-}. Rows of corn surrounding the town mean no one gets in or out UNLESS the cardinal crop begins to wither.
Maizy is played by CAROLINE INNERBICHLER who is determined to save her town, so she defies her hard-working, husk-handling fiancé Beau (ANDREW DURAND) and leaves to find help. Maizy believes she has found just that when she meets a charming “doctor” named Gordy (JOHN BEHLMANN) in Tampa. Gordy's in-love with the CON more than the CORN. CAROLINE INNERBICHLER has a song titled "Walls" showing Maizy accepting people beyond Cobb County’s narrow limits. {ROBERT HORN also seems to take direct shots at socio-political themes.} The lyric “I’m looking for a window, not a wall” briefly conjures thoughts about the U.S.-Mexico border policies and the fight for immigration reform. The reference is as light as corn silk strands blowing in the wind. Characters of Storytellers 1 and 2 (ASHLEY D. KELLEY -{&}- GREY HENSON) drive ROBERT HORN’s wild tale onward as they have double-duty {WELL.. they're not irregular -(!!!)}- Both narrate and participate in the story. ALEX NEWELL (last seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND) is Maizy’s brazen, whiskey business-owning cousin, Lulu. Her belting voice has ALEX NEWELL shining yet again. Lulu suddenly falls head-over-heels for Gordy.
Here are some Cobb County citizens' lines: “I’m taking it one day at a time.” “Yeah, that’s how days work.” “Honey, I think leaving would be a grave mistake.” “No, Grandpa, a grave mistake was burying Grandma on a slope.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2023 JESSE GREEN had his THEATER REVIEW in The New York Times saying: "Broadway and the Boonies Meet {~} In a new countrified musical, the corn-pone humor is relentless and the plot doesn't thicken."
There is a typo in JESSE GREEN's article: "... The story is after all set in the fictional Cob County, where the locals, long isolated from from the rest of the world by a wall of 'cornrows,' live in the 'hominy' of entrenched dopiness..." Of course the typo is "Cob" as that is TOO SIMPLE to miss.

There has to be definite more than guffaws. If one can, stoop to the level of SHUCKED by taking-in -{&}- taking-on the SHEAR fun of it. Those on-stage, behind-the-scenes, AND YOU, are ABle to have a great rhyme.
AM I THRILLED AS I KNOW PERSONALLY... I KNOW THE SHUCKED PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER {MICHAEL J. PASSARO}.

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