Shucked

Shucked

I’ve already booked to see it again! I know there are plenty of musicals about American history, but this one needs to be at the very top of your list, even if it’s a completely fictional, dramatised history. Shucked is, in essence, a quintessentially American show.

The story takes root in a sleepy, rural town in the US that has been cut off from the rest of the world, content to keep themselves to themselves, until a problem with their crops forces them to face the outside world. One of their own, Maizy (Sophie McShera), bravely decides to leave the community in search of help. While that might sound like a setup ripe for heavy-handed allegories about xenophobia, fear of change, and the unknown, the result is anything but preachy. What we get instead is a thigh-slapping, corn-fed hoot of a show.

Maizy encounters Gordy (Matthew Seadon-Young), who turns out to be the show’s villain, but not a terrifying one. He’s more of a lovable rogue with dubious morals, keen to exploit the town’s precious rocks to pay off his debts. The plot is deliciously daft, and that’s exactly the point.

Now let’s get into the good stuff: this show is phenomenal. It’s hard to say whether the creative team (book by Robert Horn, music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally) are sheer geniuses or gloriously sleep-deprived maniacs. Either way, the result is a genuinely laugh-out-loud show. And better still, some of the humour lands with a delightful delay, as audience members catch up to the jokes and erupt in laughter moments later.

One character, Peanut (Keith Ramsay), speaks almost entirely in one-liners and stand-up-worthy zingers, yet it never feels forced. The humour flows so naturally it’s like watching an expertly improvised comedy night. Expect pun-laden misinterpretations, brilliantly offbeat lines on family trees, and jokes that will leave you in tears of laughter.

Lulu (Ceorgina Onuorah) is a powerhouse. She brings a sharp, independent, sex-positive energy to the stage and delivers what might be the best line about virginity I’ve ever heard. She’s cheeky, bold, and utterly brilliant.

But the highlight of the evening for me was Storyteller 1 and Storyteller 2 (Monique Ashe-Palmer and Steven Webb). Their transitions between narrating and joining the ensemble are seamless, and they absolutely shine during the fourth-wall-breaking moments. A special shout-out goes to the hilarious scene in which they switch from American gangsters to cockney pawnbrokers; comedy timing, versatility, and talent rolled into one.

Director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Sarah O’Gleby have created some genuinely heartwarming and imaginative moments. The corn-kick line was pure joy, and I couldn’t get enough of the inventive choreography involving performers rolling and balancing on wooden barrels.

Set design by Scott Pask deserves praise, but also a little frustration. That famous slanted barn? Impressive, yes, but I couldn’t spot a single vertical support or counterbalance. How it stays upright remains a mystery to me. It may well go unnoticed by most, but it bugged me!

Overall, this is a top-tier musical, with jokes popping like hot kernels of popcorn. If I had to nit-pick, and I really mean nit-pick, I would have preferred Beau’s songs to sit a little lower in range, something more gravelly and grounded in the country genre rather than leaning towards a ‘Footloose’ vibe.

There was even a moment towards the end that caught me off guard emotionally. Just as I felt myself tearing up, they whipped the rug from under me with another hysterical punchline. Perfect.

You could write a dissertation on the deeper themes embedded in this piece, but why bother? I say, leave the real world at the door, enter this magical cornfield fantasy, and have a jolly good time.

*****

Photos by Pamela Raith