PicksInSix Review: SHUCKED - Broadway in Chicago - CIBC Theatre
‘SHUCKED’ — A FIELD FULL OF FUN!
PicksInSix Review |Guest Contributor Ronald Keaton
There’s some grand escapist fare going on at the CIBC Theatre on Monroe through January 19. SHUCKED is the musical story of a community that seems to want to hide away from the world and be left alone, until their lesson is learned. Now that doesn’t seem like a premise that would appeal to more worldly types, admittedly. But the way in which it’s done is an engaging and deceptively simple story told with huge doses of professionalism and humor. And it’s done with expert contributions from all quarters of the creative cache. It's not just about the active performance onstage.
For instance, the fascinating scenic design by Broadway veteran Scott Pask is an encompassing, barn-like roof with beams that stretch all the way across the stage and to the ceiling, symbolically protecting the citizens from nature like a protective bubble of sorts—all while allowing the sun to shine through on the crop and the denizens involved. That lighting design by Japhy Weideman is rich and full and compliments the action onstage brilliantly. Tony Award winner John Shivers layers in a fun sound scheme in a simultaneously subtle and obvious way. When you see it, you’ll understand that strange comparison.
A real star of the show is the endlessly inventive book by Robert Horn, who has taken the low humor form of the pun and shaken it to its core in a gorgeous manner, sprinkling the entire evening with endless, rollicking jokes that have little to do with the plot and everything to do with simply making us laugh. The story offered is surprisingly thick and challenging, which makes it even more a treat. Another is the decidedly enjoyable dance sequences created by the accomplished choreographer Sarah O’Gleby. I dare you not to sit back and smile at the ensemble dancing with ears of corn in their hands, like countrified Rockettes in tight formation.
Okay. Within this community are little stories galore all over the place. The pride of its existence is in living with/among/for corn. Yes, corn. The folks in town (the actual name is Cobb County) have made all things ‘corn’ their literal survival milieu. They live it, breathe it. It’s the very taste in the air. They make liquor with it, they dress up in it. Now one day, it is realized that the Cobb County corn is actually dying. The very entity that they depend on to get up every day seems to be drying up. The focus then shifts to a young engaged couple, Maizy and Beau (with Danielle Wade and a constant, boisterous song about her and Jake Odmark as a stoic, traditional hero whose morals form the foundation of the story). Maizy wants to go out into the world and find an answer to the community problem, while Beau resists her leaving, because of his own fears. And it damages their relationship. But leave she does to the big city of Tampa.
Maizy meets and finds Gordy, a well-dressed con artist (Quinn VanAntwerp in a smart turn), who has financial troubles of his own. He spies a bracelet that Maizy owns and wonders about the value of its stones. This launches him, Maizy and the audience into a hustler’s story of greed and desperation, where Gordy convinces Maizy that he is the one with the answers to the corn blight. Appropriately they all go back to the “corn”, where everyone in town—especially Beau and Lulu (Miki Abraham is an absolute joy to watch as she brings down the house whenever she sings), a cousin of Maizy. In fact, there are several smart performances in the show: Mike Nappi as Peanut, Beau’s brother, who carries the heavy load expertly in making us both laugh uproariously and cringe at the puns; Grandpa (Erick Pinnick with gravitas galore); two young storytellers (Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis) who keep us on the straight and narrow with their own charm and their own jokes to share; and an ensemble augmenting the tale with joy and commitment to the cause.
Two more things to mention. The score by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally is marvelous and tuneful, a collection of melodies that become real signposts of the action. And the clean, easy direction of legendary Broadway director Jack O’Brien reminds us that true creativity comes from within us at any age…bravo, sir. There is so much more to share about SHUCKED. Suffice it to say that it is a classic story of low humor and familiar notes, given the highest professional commitment by theatrical artists who know what they are doing.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com Coming soon, his new solo play “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com
PHOTO|Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
through January 19
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