‘Shucked’ Cast Promises Audiences at New Musical Comedy ‘Will Leave With Better Abs and Very Sore Cheeks’

variety.com:

Michaela Zee editor Aw shucks! The cast and crew of “Shucked” celebrated the musical comedy’s opening at the Nederlander Theatre on Tuesday night.

Set in the fictional Cob County, “Shucked” follows Maizy (Caroline Innerbichler in her Broadway debut) as she leaves her small town to find a solution for the community’s rotting corn crops.

The musical’s cast also includes John Behlmann, Kevin Cahoon, Andrew Durand, Grey Henson, Ashley D. Kelley and Alex Newell. “They were like, ‘It’s just a sweet show about corn that knows exactly what it is.’ And I was like, ‘OK, what does that mean?’” Henson told Variety before the show. “But then reading the script, I was like, ‘Oh, this is a genius piece of musical theater.’” “I considered every vegetable, but a ‘K’ sound is always funny in comedy, so I knew you could write a lot of things with corn,” book writer Robert Horn explained. “But also, it was the perfect crop because it is Heartland America — it’s taking place in Heartland America in the middle of the country, and for us, it was a great way to be able to close off from everything outside.” Horn wrote “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of jokes for more than 10 years. “For every joke that’s in the show, there’s probably 30 or 40 that are not,” he said. “And I changed them out all the time because I get bored.” The cast praised Horn (“Tootsie,” “13”) and director Jack O’Brien, the multi-Tony Award winner known for “Hairspray,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Porgy and Bess.” “Jack O’Brien is a living legend, and I have been inspired by his work — like so many people have — for many years.” Innerbichler said. “Getting to pick his brain and getting to hear how he puts the truth into comedy and the reality and honesty of the