Kevin Cahoon Is Having a Shucking Queer Blast on Broadway

A potpourri of puns, double-entendres and simultaneously hilarious and cringe-worthy jokes pervade the sleeper of the 2022-2023 Broadway season, "Shucked," ostensibly about corn, but really about connection in a world that seems more divided than ever. One of the major one-liner spouting characters that has audiences bowled over at every show is Peanut, a seemingly dim (but often wise) citizen of the isolated setting of Cob County, played by the gifted, multifaceted thesp, Kevin Cahoon, who received his very first Tony nominations for his wonderfully looney performance. The show, itself garnered 9 Tony nominations and one win for his co-star Alex Newell in the same category, Best Featured Actor in a Musical, for which Cahoon was nominated.

Born in Houston, Texas, Cahoon is a stage vet who got his start at the age of 6, performing as a rodeo clown. At 10, he made his stage debut and when he was 13, was crowned the Teen Male Vocalist Grand Champion on the TV show, "Star Search" (the "American Idol" forerunner).

The out gay actor made his Broadway debut in "The Who's Tommy" in 1993, followed by "The Lion King," where he played Ed the Hyena. Other Broadway credits include "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," the 2000 Broadway revival of "The Rocky Horror Show" and "The Wedding Singer." He left "The Lion King" to take part in the Off-Broadway production of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and went on to play the lead. Other notable Off-Broadway credits include, Andrew Lippa's "The Wild Party," the revival of Larry Shue's "The Foreigner" and the revival of Paula Vogel's "How I Learned to Drive."

For George Street Playhouse, Cahoon directed a revival of Terrence McNally's "It's Only a Play" and Larry Shue's "The Nerd," as well as a host of NYTW galas.

On television, Cahoon's credits include stints on "Monarch," "Glow," and "Nurse Jackie and guest turns on "Law and Order," "Modern Family," "The Good Wife" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Among his feature films are Woody Allen's "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion," "The Thing About My Folks," and the queer themed, "I Am Michael."

The eclectic artist recorded his solo album, "Doll," in 2006.

And now, 16 years after his last stint on Broadway, Cahoon is back onstage at the Nederlander Theater in the rollicking, rip-roaring, heartwarming, "Shucked," a show he's been a part of developing for the last decade.

EDGE had the pleasure of chatting with Cahoon about "Shucked," coming out and his career

EDGE: This is my favorite new musical of this past season. Congratulations.

Kevin Cahoon: Thank you. Listen, it has just been a 10-year labor of love to bring it to this point. And I'm so happy that I'm still with the show.

EDGE: Let's talk about that, because you have been involved with it for a decade. Can you tell me a little bit about the evolution of the project?

Kevin Cahoon: I heard they were doing a musical based on the television show, "Hee-Haw." And I thought I should try to sniff it out... I had my agents call casting and they said, No, he's not right. We're not interested in seeing him." So, I thought, 'I'm going to still hold on to that dream.' I ran into a friend of mine who was working in the music department (of the show)... and he got me in the door. That was 10 years ago.

We did a production in Dallas. At the time the show was called, "Moonshine, That Hee-Haw Musical." The show was a C-minus. And it was not critically acclaimed, but it was so informative to the three writers Robert Horn, Brady Clark and Shane McAnally as to what needed to be done to make the show viable and contemporary for today's audience. At that point, there was a complete overhaul of the project... But somehow, by the grace of God, they let me stick around. And I've been hanging onto the back of the pickup truck ever since. They brought in a new creative team that had a different vision for the show. And then we went to the O'Neill Festival in Connecticut, we went to Salt Lake City. We did countless readings, countless workshops. There were many times where I thought this show will never make it over the finish line... However, Mike Bosner, lead producer came on board. He had a vision, and he did an unprecedented job with bringing it to Broadway and marketing the show in such a brilliant way.

EDGE: There was a moment, Tony-wise when thought it might squeak in as the "Titanic" of this season...

Kevin Cahoon: I've been able to be an actor for most of my life, but I've never been in a show that has resonated with audiences as immediately, as this show has. If you have a show like "Hedwig," which was I was lucky enough to be a part of that original cast, too, it took time to find itself. It was almost prophetic John (Cameron Mitchell) and Stephen (Trask)'s writing in that they were ahead of the world. There's something about "Shucked" that feels like the audience response is so immediate, people are so enthusiastic... It's a miraculous thing to be a part of--gales of laughter where you're holding and holding, and it's just sunshine. It's the greatest job I could ever imagine having.

EDGE: There's a 'us vs. them' feeling that pervades our society. This idea of red, vs. blue, liberal vs. conservative. I feel like this show brings everybody together.

Kevin Cahoon: It really does. And that's the message of the show. I think had the show happened before the pandemic before Donald Trump, I don't know if the world would have been ready for it, but that sort of cataclysmic societal shift and polarization has allowed this show to slip in and bring people together. There are people to stage door that say, 'we're from Nebraska. We're from Ohio. We've never seen ourselves represented in a Broadway show before.' And I think that gets them in the door. And that gets them thinking, gets their hearts and minds opening up. "Shucked" is a show that is a tonic for our time.

EDGE: I want to talk about Peanut's queerness and how that developed because the reveals start off slowly and subtly and then by the end. Bam!

Kevin Cahoon: Yeah. The role did not start out as queer. He started out as sort of this asexual being in this community. There was no love interest, there was no sexual desire that was discussed. Then over time, Robert, Brandy and Shane, who are all fabulously queer themselves, realized that they needed representation within the show. And there's no better character than Peanut. It's so fun to play because you're right, it is stealth, like he starts so simple but, by the end, when the stakes have gotten so high in the story... Gordy played by the brilliant John Behlmann, who is so shockingly movie star handsome, comes into this town--it awakens something in Peanut that he is allowed to express himself in a way that maybe he's never expressed himself...

People love Peanut. People accept Peanut. Peanut is Peanut. My family is from rural Texas. And I recognize that as being a part of those rural communities, there are so many fabulously queer people in rural America that are loved by their communities and are part of the fabric of their communities. And it's great to be able to represent those people in this show, because it's a community that really doesn't have a place in popular culture in a lot of ways.

I grew up doing the rodeo and a lot of people don't know there is a whole Gay Rodeo Association that has rodeos all over this country, and there are cowboys and cowgirls and cowtheys who have this whole subculture that is thriving and rich and full of history and it's just great to be able to give this community voice.

EDGE: Tell me about the Tony experience.

Kevin Cahoon: Ah, what a dream. I have goosebumps just thinking about it. It was, something I had always dreamed of, something I always watched happen for friends, happen for colleagues... and for it to finally happen to me after doing my first Broadway show 29 years ago... I did not expect it to resonate with me as much as it did. It was just a sense of validation. It was a group of people that I respect and admire so much saying, 'you've done a great job.'

And seeing all the people that I've known all these years at the events and the awards and the lunches -- I've never been so many lunches in all of my life. I've never needed so many outfits. (laughs)...That night was just so surreal and fabulous and cool. I'm just so honored. And to be one of the five, there are so many actors in this incredible season, that could have been one of the five... I could come up with a list of 30. I'm just thrilled... All those years of hoping and dreaming and making wishes... it finally happened. And I'll never be able to thank the theater Gods enough.

EDGE: You've been acting since you were 10. So often child performers, whether in film or on stage, don't make the transition. Can you speak a bit about the journey from child performer to adult artist?

Kevin Cahoon: Yes, well, when I was nine-years-old I did my first TV commercial. {At}10, I did my first professional theatre production. And then when I was 13, I won "Star Search," which was an "American Idol"-type television show of its time. And it was a big deal. That allowed me to get representation... I started living in New York during the summers. I had a leg up after I went to NYU and studied acting in that I already had representation in my court. I knew I wanted to be on Broadway. That was my dream... There was a show called "Tommy," which I was obsessed with... I would go to open call after open call, and I got cut every single time... finally, I broke 'em down and they gave me the job.

This is not the easiest career to spend your life doing, because there's so many ups and downs. I had so much criticism -- this was in the late '80s and early '90s, that, 'Oh, he's too gay, he needs to butch it up. He needs to toughen it up, he's never going to get a television show... And when you're a teenager, and you're hearing that, you are trying to adjust and shift, like, 'I just want to get the job, and I just want to act...maybe if I lower my voice, maybe if I do this. However, the golden rule always is, be who you are.

It was not until I got "Hedwig," that it allowed me to be me in the most fabulous, greatest sense. That show changed my career, changed my life... It really allowed me to stand in the most Technicolor version of myself... I was doing "The Lion King" at the time when I got that job. And everybody thought it was nuts because they thought you're leaving a principal role in the biggest show of our time to go down and understudy and get $400 a week at this show that, what is it? My agents thought I was crazy. Everybody thought I was crazy. But I knew I had to do it... Thank God I took the risk because it's the gift that keeps on giving. Truly.

EDGE: Kevin, you didn't come out until you were in your mid 20s, can you speak a little bit about what that was like for you, especially working in theater? Did more doors close or open?

Kevin Cahoon: Oh! Swung open! Swung open in the most giant way. This was late 80s, early 90s. It wasn't like I was lying about anything, but I just was not confident enough in myself to stand in my own shoes. It was like the world was black and white and then the world became Technicolor. It might sound cliche, it's kind of like "The Wizard of Oz," but it's true... I look at my younger friends now and the freedom with which they express themselves and the freedom with which they move through the world, and I'm so inspired by that.

And there were people like John Cameron Mitchell... they broke the ground; they led the way. It was at a time when so many people were not expressing who they were. You look at the celebrities now who are so out and vocal with who they are. They weren't publicly back then...The world has shifted. And it's better. I know, at times, it feels like it's not. It really is...The train has left the station, I guarantee you.

EDGE: I'd like to flash back to your album "Doll." I was listening to it, and I wanted to quote from the title track:

I am the freak
I am the fag,
I am the weirdo one you couldn't stand
I am the geek,
I am the nerd, you beat me up when I was ten

Hearing that now, what are your thoughts and feelings?

Kevin Cahoon: Talk about coming out. I did it. In that lyric, in that album. I didn't even tell anyone what I was doing. I was just creating this outlet--singing at CBGBs, Don Hill's, Irving Plaza, all these downtown queer nights at these rock 'n' roll punk clubs. And I listen to that now. and I'm so proud of it. I'm proud of that album and the songs and I'm proud of all my friends who helped me create that album. It was on the heels of "Hedwig" that I had the balls to do it. I thought, I do have something that I need to say...I just sat down in my little apartment on 44th Street and was like, 'I'm gonna write a punk album about where I'm at right now in my life'...

We would just play midnight shows at every downtown dive you could imagine (with) all my friends. Shoshana Bean sang backup, Montego Glover sang backup... Andrew Rannells was a go-go boy for me... It was the most fun celebratory time of liberation and expression. I felt like it's a comet, like you saw it, and experienced it, and then it disappeared into the night in the most sparkling way. I keep thinking, maybe we should do a reunion show at some point. That would be really fun. So maybe we'll do that.

"Shucked" is currently playing at the Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St., NYC
For tix visit: https://shuckedmusical.com