“Shucked,” a Tony Award-winning musical about discovery and corn, opened at ASU Gammage on Dec. 2 with phenomenal singing and hysterical jokes. The show will run in Tempe until Dec. 7 before heading to its next location.
The show opens with two storytellers setting the scene and giving details about Cobb County, a small town surrounded by corn stalks where the residents have never left their corn-loving home.
The storytellers, played by Joe Moeller and Maya Lagerstam, are a comedic duo who pop in throughout the show to play a variety of side characters and offer humorous commentary about each scene.
Their country fable begins with Maizy, played by Danielle Wade, preparing to marry Beau, portrayed by Nick Bailey, when all of a sudden the town’s corn begins to die. The crisis stops the wedding and sends the town into an uproar.
Maizy decides she must leave Cobb County to find a “corn doctor.” She ends up in sunny Tampa, Florida, where she meets Gordy, played by Quinn VanAntwerp.
VanAntwerp was part of the original Broadway cast of “Shucked” in 2023.
Throughout the show, there are dozens of hilarious innuendoes that had the whole audience in an uproar. Many of these came from Peanut, played by Mike Nappi, who quickly became an audience favorite thanks to his delivery.
The first act started a little slow but quickly picked up pace in Act Two, which featured some of the best moments of the night.
Mika Abraham, portraying Luu, delivered one of the standout performances with her sassy attitude and powerful vocals. Abraham and Wade share several scenes where they play off each other perfectly, and their duet “Friends” blended their voices beautifully.
This song was followed by another crowd favorite, with most of the male characters taking the stage.
Bailey, Nappi and the male ensemble captured the whole audience as they sang and danced during “Best Man Wins.” The choreography and staging in this number were among the most engaging of the night, with actors sliding across the stage, pounding their chests and making donkey noises.
The show's opening night ended with hundreds of audience members rising from their seats as the cast took their bows. This show is perfect for a family outing, with cleverly written jokes for adults and plenty of moments younger audience members will enjoy.
To purchase tickets for the rest of the run of “Shucked” at ASU Gammage, click here.