Back in the day, Broadway shows were called musical comedies. That changed with the likes of “Les Miserable”, “Sweeney Todd”, “Phantom of the Opera”, and many others.
But make no mistake, “Shucked”, the current offering on Wharton Center’s Broadway Series, is a comedy, through and through.
It’s a down home “He Haw” type show that takes place in an isolated corn growing village of (presumably) Iowa. Everyone on stage is dressed in overalls, boots and flannel shirts. And they’re always telling jokes.
It didn’t take long for the audience to understand the vibe and let me just say, there was a whole lotta laughing going on. Non-stop humor.
The country-style music was well played and the songs were clever and likeable, but the centerpiece of “Shucked” is its humor. The puns and jokes come at a lightening clip and you must be very alert to catch them all. How many rhymes and one-liners can be made on the subject of corn (“they lived a life in perfect hominy”) is astounding.
The story centers around cute and perky Maizy (Danielle Wade) who is about to get married to Beau (Jake Odmark). The wedding plans go awry as the town’s corn – the one reason for it to exist – is all dying.
Maizy volunteers to go outside Cobb County to seek assistance on solving this existential problem. Everyone is shocked at Maizy’s brashness to leave the community to seek help. No one has ever left before.
The jokes continue as she goes to Tampa and finds Gordy, a podiatrist (Quinn VanAntwerp) who specializes in corns. Turns out, the doc is a shyster, but she is attracted to him and brings him back to bring the corn back to life.
All the action takes place in a creatively designed, rather cockeyed, barn and the cast is filled with great talent, some of whom were in the original Broadway production.
Although there is only one set and the costumes are standard country fare with very little change, the lighting does a lot to create mood and place.
Miki Abraham as Lulu, Maizy’s cousin who falls in the love with Gordy displays a beautiful voice and lots of personality.
The other mainstays of the play are two narrators (Tyler Joseph Ellis and Maya Lagerstam) who guide us through the plot and pop in and out with scene stealing comic skits and songs.
Danielle Wade is excellent as Maizy and holding the entire shebang together, with a great voice and energetic dancing, although the general choreography of the show is lackluster. VanAntwerp as Gordy adds deft physical humor to his character that gives much needed variety to the show.
Shucked is a very entertaining musical but the music is easily forgotten. It is directed by the Broadway veteran and Michigan native, Jack O’Brien. It is impressive that he created so much fun from such meager material.
“Shucked” continues at Wharton Center through January 26. Whartoncenter.com
