What the Shuck? A Musical about Corn
By: Sara Davidson
Stars: ★★
The hit Broadway musical “Shucked” came to the Houston Hobby Center this past week, and proved you really can make a musical about anything — but that doesn’t mean you should. The show follows the story of a woman named Maizy, who must go on a journey to save her small town when their livelihood, growing corn, starts to die. Though the musical had its moments, overall it fell flat, much like the singing of the male lead, Beau.
“Shucked” starts with a bang, and features one of the stronger numbers at the beginning, “Corn.” The elaborate dancing, much of which was done while holding shucks of corn, is well-timed and invests the viewer in the story. From there though, the musical holds a very surface-level storyline — a love triangle, a small town in need of a hero, etc. The musical prides itself more on how many puns it can fit into the span of a single line — the answer being much too many — rather than the depth of the characters or plot of the story. The jokes themselves feel like someone went to a children’s book fair and bought a joke book, then decided to quote the book forever.
The resolution is one that can be seen from the start and pushes past any chance at delving deeper into the thoughts of Maizy returning to her small, narrow-minded hometown after seeing the world for the first time. Both of the story’s leading women, Lulu and Maizy, are also pushed to end up with the two leading men by the end, despite Lulu’s staunch stance on remaining single and true to herself and Maizy continuously feeling trapped and marginalized by her fiance. The narrators of the musical, later revealed to be part of the town themselves, feel like an off-brand Damian and Janice from “Mean Girls,” trying to stay relevant and as woke as possible despite admitting how prejudiced the town is.
The best song by far was “Independently Owned,” sung by Lulu about her decision to stay single and her career aspirations of selling corn liquor. Both the lyrics and the singing make this song top-notch – and a breath of fresh air in that no puns were spoken for at least four minutes.
Though I can appreciate a musical that honors the midwest, “Shucked” is not that musical. Maybe a generational bias can make all the difference though – I was one of the youngest attendants in the audience by far, and many people around me certainly chuckled throughout the performance, including the couple who decided to sit in the empty seats next to mine during the second act and laugh maniacally at every line that was said. If corny jokes are your thing, this might just be the perfect musical for you. If not though, don’t go and let your perception of the midwest be muddied.
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