''Shucked'' is a 2022 musical with music and lyrics by

Brandy Clark Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey ...

and

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 "Are Y ...

, and a book by Robert Horn. The

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production began previews at the

Nederlander Theatre The Nederlander Theatre (formerly the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, it was de ...

on March 8, 2023, before opening on April 4. The show received positive reviews and went on to receive nine nominations at the

76th Tony Awards The 76th Tony Awards will recognize the achievements in Broadway productions during the 2022–23 season. The ceremony is scheduled to be held at the United Palace in New York City on June 11, 2023, with Ariana DeBose returning as host for th ...

, including Best Musical. Cast member

Alex Newell Alex Eugene Newell (born August 20, 1992) is an American actor and singer. They are known for their role as Unique Adams on the Fox musical series ''Glee'' and Mo on '' Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist''. Newell also starred as Asaka in the Broadway ...

became one of the first two openly

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

performers to be nominated for and win a Tony Award, with their win for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Premise

Maizy and Beau, two residents of the rural Midwestern community of Cobb County, are forced to postpone their wedding when the corn crop is blighted. Maizy, on the advice of her cousin Lulu, the local

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

distiller, leaves town to try and find a way to save their corn. Maizy travels to

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, where she meets Gordy Jackson, a con-man who claims he can help, but secretly thinks Cobb County might have riches he can take to settle his debts. When the two return, Gordy comes into conflict with both Beau and Lulu, although Lulu eventually falls for him.

Musical numbers

;Act I * Overture – Orchestra * "Corn" – Storytellers, Ensemble * "Walls" – Maizy * "Travelin' Song" – Maizy, Storytellers, Ensemble * "Bad" – Gordy, Female Ensemble * "Woman of the World" – Maizy, Ensemble * "Somebody Will" – Beau, Ensemble * "Independently Owned" – Lulu * "Holy Shit" – Peanut, Beau, Lulu * "Maybe Love" – Maizy * "Corn" (reprise) – Ensemble ;Act II * Entr'acte – Orchestra * "We Love Jesus" – Ensemble * "OK" – Beau * "I Do" – Maizy, Beau, Lulu, Gordy * "Friends" – Maizy, Lulu * "Best Man Wins" – Peanut, Beau, Male Ensemble * "Corn Mix" – Ensemble * "Maybe Love" (reprise) – Maizy, Ensemble

Cast

Productions

Washington D.C. (2020) (cancelled)

''Shucked'' was partially derived from one of Horn's earlier projects, 2015's ''Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical''. Sources seem to differ on whether ''Shucked'' should be considered an evolution of or completely separate from ''Moonshine'', as the only elements remaining from the 2015 show are two songs and that one character is named Lulu. Originally the show was booked for a run in late 2020 at the National Theater. This run was subsequently cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. During the pandemic the show continued to undergo rewrites.

Salt Lake City (2022)

The show was first performed in 2022 at the Pioneer Memorial Theatre in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Utah from October 28 to November 12, where it received positive reviews. Most of the Utah cast transferred with the show to Broadway.

Broadway (2023)

The Broadway production began previews on March 8, 2023, at the

. Two weeks prior, the song "Maybe Love" was released as part of rehearsal footage. Advertising for the production was vague and used corn-related

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

s in order to generate interest, a strategy which seems to have been successful. In its first week of previews, the show grossed US$291,972, having sold 99% of its available tickets at reduced "preview pricing" rates. Its second and third weeks of previews grossed $456,719 and $517,296, respectively. The production is directed by Jack O'Brien. It features

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

by Sarah O'Gleby, orchestrations by

Jason Howland Jason Howland is a musical theatre composer, playwright, conductor, music director, and producer. In 2015, he won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for his work producing the cast recording of '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' ...

, set design by

Scott Pask Scott Pask is an American scenic and costume designer. He has worked primarily on stage productions in the United States, on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre, as well as in the United Kingdom. He has won Tony Awards for his wor ...

, costume design by

Tilly Grimes Tilly Grimes is a British costume designer for theatre, opera, and film. She works between London, Dublin and New York. She is a guest artist / guest designer at The Juilliard School, New York University, Fordham University, University of Rocheste ...

, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by John Shivers, and

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

design by

Mia Neal Mia Neal is an American hair stylist. She won an Academy Award in the category Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the film ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom''. Selected filmography * ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 198 ...

. The production opened on April 4, 2023, to mostly positive reviews.

West End (2024)

In June 2023,

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

announced that the show will transfer to one of his theaters in London's

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

in 2024. An exact date, theatre, and casting are still to be announced.

Cast album

On March 20, 2023, it was announced that the show would release an Original Broadway Cast Recording, to be released by

Sony Masterworks Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwo ...

Broadway on May 5. The album would be produced by

Billy Jay Stein Billy Jay Stein (also known as William Stein, Billy Stein and Strange Cranium) is a pianist, keyboardist, composer, music director, record producer, electronic music designer, and mixing engineer. He won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theat ...

, McAnally, and Clark.

Reception

The show received positive reviews from ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', ''Deadline'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'', the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', ''New York Stage Review'', ''Theatrely'', ''Time Out'', ''Times Square Chronicles'', and ''Variety''. It received mixed to negative reviews from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,'' ''Observer,'' and ''The Wrap''. Reviews tended to praise the show's comedy and acting. Its music was generally noted as good but not stand-out, with the exception of the number "Independently Owned", which many reviewers called attention to for Alex Newell's exceptional performance. Weak spots in the show seemed to be its plot and its implementation of a moral.

Awards and nominations

2022 Salt Lake City production

2023 Broadway production

{, class="wikitable" width="95%" ! width="5%", Year ! width="20%", Award ! width="45%", Category ! width="20%", Nominee ! width="10%", Result , - , rowspan="33" , 2023 , rowspan="9" ,

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

, colspan="2" , Best Musical , , - , Best Book of a Musical , Robert Horn , , - , Best Original Score , Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally , , - , Best Direction of a Musical , Jack O’Brien , , - , rowspan="2" , Best Featured Actor in a Musical , Kevin Cahoon , , - , Alex Newell , , - , Best Scenic Design of a Musical , Scott Pask , , - , Best Sound Design of a Musical , John Shivers , , - , Best Orchestrations , Jason Howland , , - , rowspan="12" ,

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

s , colspan="2" , Outstanding Musical , , - , Outstanding Book of a Musical , Robert Horn , , - , Outstanding Music , rowspan=2, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally , , - , Outstanding Lyrics , , - , Outstanding Direction of a Musical , Jack O'Brien , , - , Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical , Andrew Durand , , - , rowspan="2" , Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical , Kevin Cahoon , , - , Alex Newell , , - , Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical , Scott Pask , , - , Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical , Tilly Grimes , , - , Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical , John Shivers , , - , Outstanding Orchestrations , Jason Howland , , - , rowspan="3" ,

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

s , Distinguished Performance Award , Alex Newell , , - , colspan="2" , Outstanding Production of a Musical , , - , Outstanding Direction of a Musical , Jack O'Brien , , - , rowspan="7" ,

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newsp ...

s , colspan="2" , Outstanding New Broadway Musical , , - , Outstanding Book of a Musical , rowspan="1" , Robert Horn , , - , Outstanding New Score , rowspan="1" , Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally , , - , Outstanding Director of a Musical , rowspan="1" , Jack O'Brien , , - , Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical , rowspan="1" , Caroline Innerbichler , , - , Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical , rowspan="1" , Alex Newell , , - , Outstanding Orchestrations , rowspan="1" , Jason Howland , , - , colspan="2" rowspan="2" ,

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre s ...

, Caroline Innerbichler , , - , Ashley D. Kelley , {{Won, Honoree

External links

Official website

Internet Broadway Database

References

2022 musicals Broadway musicals Agriculture in popular culture Musical comedy plays Original musicals Musicals set in the United States Tampa, Florida in fiction Musicals set in Florida Tony Award-winning musicals