Review: 'Shucked' Serves Up Delicious Corn on National Tour

Another national tour launches in Providence on the heels of the season opener at The Providence Performing Arts Center. While it's a familiar story, it's one that will resonate with most audiences, given that it's wrapped in a musical comedy package that is hard to resist.

"Shucked" closed this past January on Broadway. Its premise is a simple one: Corn farmers in a small town somewhere in the heartland discover their crops are dying and need to leave to find help. Trouble is, they have cut themselves off from the rest of the world and distrust outsiders.

With book by Robert Horn (Tony winner, book for the musical "Tootsie") and music and lyrics by Brandy Clark ("12 Stories" album and country songwriter,) and Shane McAnally (singer-songwriter "Are Your Eyes Still Blue"), the play gives us the "small towners against the big city" trope; in this case, the big city is Tampa, Florida. Maizy (Danielle Wade, "Mean Girls" national tour) is engaged to corn farmer Beau (Jake Odmark, "Kinky Boots"), who cannot figure out why the crops are dying. As she offers to leave and find help, Beau forbids her departure. She leaves anyway and heads to Tampa. Meeting a podiatrist whose office sign reads "Corn Doctor," she thinks she's found the answer to her town's prayers.

The foot specialist, Gordy (Quinn VanAtwerp, "Shucked" on Broadway), is a shady guy who comes from a family of con artists and is himself in some serious debt to a mobster. Noticing Maizy's bracelet, which features some found stones from her town, he gets it appraised and discovers its great value. He formulates a plan to charm her, follow her back to where she came from, and dig for rocks as he "pretends" to fix their corn crops. Upon her return, all heck breaks loose as Beau can't hide his dismay at a big city doctor not only trying to fix his crops, but woo Maizy, as well. Her cousin, Lulu (Miki Abraham, "Shucked" on Broadway), sees through Gordy immediately.

"Shucked" is told mainly by two actors: Storyteller1 (Maya Lagerstam) and Storyteller2 (Tyler Joseph Ellis). Both explain the plot in an almost oversharing manner, but it's actually fun to watch because they're both quite funny and animated, joining in on musical numbers occasionally. The earnest way each actor gives their character life resonates. The jokes are corny, and boy is there a lot of that; think "Book of Mormon" meets "Hee Haw" (which was a TV variety show made up of comedy sketches, country music, and one-liners that ran from 1969-1993.) "Hee Haw" took place in a mythical town called "Kornfield Kounty," and here it's simply "Cob County." But there's a brighter message here, and it's all about acceptance.

All of the actors seem at home here. You'd never know this is their first stop on the tour. Grand vocals, fun choreography, and some slapstick round out a fun night of light entertainment with the promise of a neat and happy (and somewhat sappy) resolution by the end of act two. Kids will enjoy the neat production numbers and visuals, and adults will giggle at the many double entendres and maybe even want to sing along.

"Shucked" launches its national tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) through October 27, 220 Weybosset Street, Providence, Rhode Island, 02903. For information or tickets call 401-421-2787 or visit www.ppacri.org.