On paper, the pun-driven, corn-forward musical “Shucked” sounds like a dud.
But the Tony-winning show, which opened Tuesday at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis, proved to be a true delight. It’s devilishly clever and stupendously dumb, in the best possible sense.
A pair of narrators (Maya Lagerstam and Joe Moeller, the latter coming across as a gay version of “Saturday Night Live” cast member Mikey Day) tell the story of Cob County, an insular place of unknown origin surrounded by corn stalks and populated by folks perfectly happy to remain cut off from the rest of the world.
It opens with the postponement of the marriage of longtime sweethearts Maizy (Danielle Wade) and Beau (Nick Bailey) due to the mysterious death of the county’s corn crop. Maizy decides to leave town to search for someone who can help, despite protests from Beau.
Maizy ends up in Tampa (the place you land when you “can’t afford Orlando or Atlanta”), where she meets conman podiatrist Gordy (Quinn VanAntwerp), a self-professed “corn doctor” who Maizy mistakenly assumes can help. Gordy, who is in deep debt to the mob, sees Maizy’s bracelet made up of what he thinks are precious stones. When she tells him there’s plenty more beneath her house, he hatches a plan to extract the would-be riches from Cob County.
Writer Robert Horn (“13,” “Tootsie”) clearly loves Broadway traditions, as “Shucked” both celebrates and roasts them. It’s full of big musical numbers — written by Nashville vets Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally — and rapid-fire gags. It’s at times reminiscent of “The Music Man” and Noel Coward as well as “Airplane” and “30 Rock.”
Not all of the jokes work, but even the grumpiest theatergoers will find plenty of laughs. Cackles, even, as the obnoxiously loud guy sitting behind me barked throughout the show. (Note to Hennepin Arts: If this was a plant to game a positive review, he was so annoying, it could have backfired.)
The narrators, or as the show calls them “storytellers,” were a wise choice to frame the story. Not only do they get some of the best lines of the musical, they help keep things moving, particularly in the second act when they summarize events that lesser shows would waste 15 minutes or more explaining. Indeed, the brisk running time of about two hours is one of the greatest strengths of “Shucked.”
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The cast, too, is exceptional. In what initially comes across as a thankless role, Bailey (who is ridiculously hunky for a stage performer) belts the best song of the show, the barn-burning anthem “Somebody Will,” which gets a brief, celebratory reprise in the second act. (Oddly enough, the show also offers a brief nod to “Purple Rain” that had Tuesday’s audience cheering.)
Maizy’s cousin, the whiskey-making Lulu (Miki Abraham), gets her own moment to shine with “Independently Owned,” an ode to strong women who don’t need a man to be happy. That said, she finds herself drawn to the slippery Gordy, who VanAntwerp portrays with enough actual charm to make him believable.
While parents should probably leave their younger ones at home — there’s some spicy language and racy humor — “Shucked” offers a much-needed, gleeful and joyous break from the current darkness of the world.
‘Shucked’
When: Through Sunday
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis
Tickets: $179.95-$58.45 via hennepinarts.org
Capsule: “Shucked” can get corny, but it’s still a bushel of fun.
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