"Shucked" ripe with corny jokes, small-town charm
Michigan State University is reconnecting with its roots.
Before there were Spartans in East Lansing, there were the Aggies; before there was Michigan State University, there was the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan – the first agricultural college in the United States.
It’s only fitting, then, that “Shucked” – the Tony Award-winning “farm-to-fable” musical – makes a stop in East Lansing on its first national tour.
In “Shucked,” rural Cob County is thrown into crisis when their cornfields suddenly fail.
Except, “Shucked” isn’t about corn. Not really.
In fact, its main appeal isn’t the plot, which mostly serves as a vehicle for one liners and puns so corny they at times make you wish you had Lulu’s corn liquor so strong “it could raise five kids on a teacher’s salary.” Instead, it’s the cast of heartfelt characters and the heaping servings of small-town charm that keep you buttered up.
And there’s a full cornucopia of talent on stage – including two original Broadway cast members.
That talent truly pops when Quinn Vanantwerp, who originated the role of Gordy – more of a con man than a corn man – on Broadway, performs the patter portion of “Corn (Reprise).”
Another memorable moment comes when Miki Abraham, who reprises her role as Lulu after playing her on Broadway, performs the power ballad “Independently Owned.”
New cast members like Jake Odmark, who plays Maizy’s original beau Beau, also have their moment: His performance of “Somebody Will” was another highlight of the show.
By the end of the show, it feels like the characters are your longtime friends – perfectly capturing the small-town, Midwest energy they were going for.
Even the puns that started out groanworthy become charming character traits – like when Peanut, played by Mike Nappi, offers his wisdom in sets of three observations, or when Storyteller 2, played by Tyler Joseph Ellis, points out the literal truth underlying various idioms.
But the show never quite does the characters justice after making you care about them. Most of the character growth happens in the first minutes of the show – by the end, little has changed, and some characters have arguably regressed back into their old habits.
Despite leaving some kernels unpopped, “Shucked” does something completely original, which is worth a few points by itself; it’s not based on the life of a founding father, or a major recording artist’s music catalog, or a classic film franchise with a conveniently timed sequel.
That, paired with the endearing characters and occasionally hilarious one liners, makes it worth taking a trip to visit Cob County and its residents for a few hours.
“Shucked” plays the Wharton Center through Jan. 26.