Folks say that things happen for a reason. I say Shucked happened for a reason. The great deities of musical theatre knew we were about to be living in the dark ages and the great deities of musical theatre knew we would need something whole-kernel-wholesome with literally a laugh-a-minute to lift us up out of the darkness and bring us into the radiant bright— cornfield!? Who in tarnation knew that we so desperately needed a musical— about CORN!? Robert Horn (book) and Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally (music & lyrics), that’s who! And now all of Charm City knows too because Shucked is here! And you’ll laugh your ears off as it plants itself for this first week of April at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre! The corny, feel-good, laugh-out-loud-until-you’re-crying musical of our times is here for you this week— no joke! (Though there’s something like ~200 jokes in the show!) Directed by Broadway’s Jack O’Brien with Choreography by Sarah O’Gleby and Musical Supervision, Orchestration, and Arrangements by Jason Howland, this rootin’ tootin’ romp through the cornfields of fictional Cobb County, USA will have you boot-stomping, toe-tapping, laughing until your gut busts a seam, and then some!
Scott Pask, the show’s scenic designer, and Tilly Grimes, the show’s costume designer, go together like corn-on-the-cob and Old Bay (hey, when in Baltimore…) when it comes to crafting a rustic, bucolic aesthetic. The not-quite dilapidated barn structure that frames the stage is actually downright homey and almost comforting for anyone who’s ever enjoyed time in the countryside. The patchwork jeans and ‘rural couture’ pieces that Grimes has stitched into the fabric of this narrative is crying out for praise; it’s as country bumpkin as the characters in the show! Wig Designer Mia Neal deserves pops of praise also for her corn-cob mullet-style featured on the Lulu character; it’s a perfect nod to the show’s subject matter!
Lighting Designer Japhy Weideman brings glorious illumination to life really adding a vibrancy to the perfectly crafted scenery of Pask’s set. The crepuscular hues that creep through the slats of the barn when certain musical numbers are meant to feel a little more sentimental are as effective as the bright golden light that generally washes over the stage for the majority of the performance. Weideman uses a deft touch in the show’s lighting plots— nothing to chaotic or busy but not without a couple of specials when necessary— like the whole of “Best Man Wins”, which seems to feature the most lighting cues of any other number in the production. The way the ‘scene-freezes’ with Storyteller 1 & 2 are executed using lighting cues is also extremely sharp and well presented.
You wouldn’t think that a musical about corn could be so funny but the creative team have done their due diligence in really popping those jokes all throughout the vast field of play. Director Jack O’Brien ensures that the pacing never gums up despite the occasional hold for intense audience laughter. (Yes, the jokes are that funny!) You hardly even notice that two hours (plus that pesky twenty-minute intermission) has breezed right on by! And there’s just something earnest, real ‘salt’ (and butter and Old Bay) of the earth about the way that O’Brien sets the actors to work in this production. The show is self-aware but in an honest fashion, less tongue-in-cheek and annoying and more ‘well that’s cute’ kind of way. (If you’ve got a better way of describing it, I’m all ears!) The chuckles are wholesome, with a slightly bawdy edge at times— some people prefer their corn fiery and zesty, others prefer kettle and caramel— and the whole show is one big bushel of hilarity and wholesomeness wrapped up clever lyrics, beautiful music, and a whole lot of fun.
Shucked is a new story— or maybe an old one? It’s an every-person story; O’Brien even brings the cast together for one curtain-call rather than pulling out featured players as to more accurately reflect the ensemble nature of the show and its relatability to everyone. Even if you’re not from the countryside, you can find yourself or someone you know in this corny tale. And like any good musical, the dancing is brilliant. Sarah O’Gleby’s choreography, whether it’s the Corn-Cobettes (a la Radio City Musical Hall) kicking up their cobs in that opening number “Corn” or the barrel-jump-barrel-slide steps featured in “Best Man Wins” or the boot-scootin’ two-step, dosido that rounds its way into nearly every big ensemble number, is ripe and ready for this show. And the dancers, which is literally everyone but particularly the ensemble (featuring Zakiya Baptiste, Cecily Dionne Davis, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jackson Goad, Erick Pinnick, Celeste Rose, Kyle Sherman, Chani Wereley), is delivering these numbers with such gumption, zest, and gusto that you want to jump up and dance right along with them.
I think…Peanut is the corniest cornball in the whole dang show. Played by Mike Nappi, this thicker than peanut butter bumpkin boy is hysterical. His one-liners, his zingers, his perpetual interruptions are a hoot! And the way he plays off his brother Beau is so perfect you won’t be able to not laugh at all his antics. Nappi plays the role straight and true, making the yuks land even harder. He might be the funniest thing in the whole production, except for maybe that moment when Erick Pinnick’s Grandpa starts shimmy-dancing when asked about how he knew if ‘Grandma was the one.’ Pinnick is spry on his feet and bounces up on those barrels during “Best Man Wins” alongside all the other guys on stage and it’s a real show-stopping moment.
Playing the outsider, Quinn VanAntwerp tackles the role of Gordy with a lot of chutzpah and even more oil than the deep-fryer at the county fair! Like a slick-talking snake-charming traveling salesman…trying to sell you a dagum boy-band only in modern times…VanAntwerp can rattle, patter, and belt along with the best of them. “Corn (Reprise)” is the modern-day response to “Trouble” (The Music Man) and VanAntwerp handles it with as much class, finesse, and grease as any high-ranking, respectable Harold Hill might! His jazzy-swank rendition of “Bad” is pretty darn hot to trot too. Versatility is finding a comfortable home in VanAntwerp’s expression of Gordy, particularly as the character actually experiences growth in this seasoned performer’s hands.
The closest thing you might get to playing ‘true to stereotype’ in this show is Beau (Jake Odmark.) A cornfed, corn-bred country boy, Odmark hits the corn on the cob every time his character is called upon to have a feeling, express an emotion, or exist with pathos. It’s pretty impressive, especially when it comes to both “Somebody Will” and “OK”, his two big solo numbers, which showcase not only Odmark’s sensational capability to belt and sustain, albeit with that pop-modern sound, but to swallow back his character’s emotional pride and live in the moment. Odmark gets some pretty zippy and zinging one-liners as well, particularly when mouthing off against the Gordy character, all of which he delivers with precision and a starched understanding of comic timing. The double-talk synchronicity scenes he shares with Maizy are as jaw-droppingly impressive as they are hilarious.
Danielle Wade does a stupendous job of navigating her way all around the Maizy character, especially as Maizy gets a taste of both worlds. When Wade has that ‘self-determination’ moment during “Walls”, aside from warming you up to her incredible voice and endearing you to her personal plight, she convinces the audience that she’s not the blunt bumpkin that everyone else in town appears to be. And then a few scenes go by outside of Cobb County and its clear that Wade’s Maizy is about unworldly as one might expect coming from such a sheltered life experience. Wade plays up the dynamic difference between Maizy at home and Maizy not at home with an enriching sense of individuality and her vocal prowess, which is reminiscent of shimmering country super stars like Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn, never wavers. Did I mention she’s also really funny? Particularly when her and Lulu start that “COUSIN-COUSIN” fight.
Lulu— there aren’t enough words for this fierce, sassy, larger-than-life, force-to-be-reckoned-with as portrayed by the insanely talented Miki Abraham. There is an undeniable cheekiness to Abraham’s portrayal of Lulu that leaves you chuckling even before she delivers her wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am rip-roaring zingers. Abraham is delivering high-octane laughs— higher than any elephant’s eye of cornstalks, that’s for sure— and she follows those up with vocal knockouts both when singing with sincerity during the duet “Friends” (opposite of Wade’s Maizy) and when bring the house down with her second-to-none belting during “Independently Owned.” Abraham is a true tour-du-force, bringing an elevated experience to this corny musical.
Serving as quirky and corny narrative beacons, Storyteller 1 (Maya Lagerstam) and Storyteller 2 (Tyler Joseph Ellis) are your local cornfield tour guides to Shucked. Don’t mistake me, they pop up everywhere— including in a run-on gag about poor cellphone reception which is very reminiscent of The 39 Steps and by golly do they earn their ovation from the audience for that bit! And when they do it’s like the delicious salty-sweet snack that is popcorn when it comes to enjoying live entertainment. Lagerstam and Ellis are lively and chock-a-block with humor, ready to tell the tale, sing a song, or in Ellis’ case— as he states— “I like this number and know it so I’m jumpin’ in!” (and he literally does, just self-inserts to “Best Man Wins”) and it’s a whole barnyard of wild. Lagerstam and Ellis play exceptionally well off of one another, with Lagerstam getting to deliver some of the higher-brow jokes and Ellis leaning heavily into the puns; the pair are perfect for their respective roles and really tie together this whole in one neat, corny package!
It truly is the show you didn’t know you needed; it’s the laugh America desperately needs right now and it’s just an uplifting, heartfelt experience that you won’t want to miss! Spread the word, all through the crop-field, after all corn has ears…Shucked is here through April 6th 2025 and you won’t want to miss it!
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Shucked plays through April 6th 2025 on the Main Stage of The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center— 12 N. Eutaw Street in Baltimore’s Bromo Arts District. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 410-837-7400 or purchasing them in advance online.
To read the interview with Shucked’s Jake Odmark, click here.
To read the interview with Shucked’s Erick Pinnick, click here.
