SCOTT TADY
PITTSBURGH – The laughs come fast and frequently at “Shucked,” the latest Tony Award-winning musical to grace the Benedum Center stage.
The mixed-ages audience at last night’s Pittsburgh premiere laughed loudly and regularly at quips, ranging from clever wordplay, to corny dad jokes, to saucy double entendres.
“If I had a crystal ball… I’d walk different,” drawls one of the cast’s unsophisticated fellas, Peanut, whose folksy and odd philosophical musings epitomize the non-sophisticated charms of “Shucked.”
Utilizing just two main backdrops, “Shucked” is set in a fictional hick town, called Cob County, where residents are content in their isolation until the sudden, unexpected demise of their corn crop.
Only our heroine Maizy (an endearing Danielle Wade from Broadway’s “Mean Girls”) has the courage or conviction to leave Cob County to try to find a solution to what’s killing the corn. Abandoning her simple but kind fiancé, Beau (a radiant Nick Bailey,) who tries to discourage her from leaving, Maizy ends up somehow in Tampa, Florida, transfixed and befuddled by a big city where she sees adults pushing pets dogs in baby carriages with children kept in control on leashes.
Maizy is a fish out of water, soon targeted by a scoundrel podiatrist named Gordy (a solid Quinn Vanantwerp, who did 3,000 Broadway performances of “Jersey Boys”).Gordy owes the Mob money, and suspects he’s found his salvation in Maizy.
Once Maizy mentions her shiny jeweled heirloom bracelet is made of gems from a heap of shiny rocks under the soil of her family’s farm, Gordy concocts a plan to seduce her and travel back together to Cob County, confident the bumpkins there don’t recognize they’ve got a fortune in unearthed minerals he can grab.
Two joke-slinging narrators (the mirthful Maya Lagerstam and Joe Moeller) keep the pace brisk and fill in storyline gaps. As a spectator, you might rightfully question why Maizy’s and Beau’s planned wedding had to end so abruptly, but there’s no time to get bogged down in plot realism, especially with the narrators reeling off wisecracks and puns that bring groans and smiles, mixed with sharp witticisms, like noting how the term “unsolved mystery” is redundant.
“Shucked” might have the most punchlines per hour since Broadway’s “Book of Morman,” opined one critic.
You’ve got to pay attention to the rapid-fire wordplay, especially in the musical selections, which all were good, with several absolutely spectacular.
The brawny Bailey, as the heartbroken Beau, earned thunderous applause for his strong and towering singing on “Somebody Will,” complete with enough country music lyrical tropes to sound ready for the album of Nashville’s next big star.
Acclaimed country music songsmiths Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally composed the music and lyrics
Maizy’s best friend and cousin Lulu (an outstanding Miki Abraham) did a show-stopping solo vocal performance in “Independently Owned,” a sassy song about independence with the line “I don’t need a man for emancipation.”
“Shucked’s” second act solidifies a message about the uplifting powers of family and love. There are points made, too, on the importance of learning to befriend strangers.
The Maizy-Beau-Gordy romantic triangle reaches a satisfying if not surprising resolution.
I’d have liked more depth to the story; and a little less juvenile humor.
But for two-hours-and-10-minutes, plus a 15-minute intermission, I found myself captivated by the Cob County denizens, with their silly tale a pleasant escape from reality.
Leaning into its corny-ness, “Shucked” stands ready to grow grins and bring joy through Sunday at the Benedum.
Tickets are at trustarts.org.
.
..