Matthew Seadon-Young as Gordy and Georgina Onuorah as Lulu in Shucked at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. © Pamela Raith.The venue seems to have been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years, with hit musicals gracing its woodland-enveloped stage, delighting audiences the summer long. Last year, Fiddler on the Roof dazzled all-comers, earning plaudits and an extended transfer elsewhere. This year, Broadway success SHUCKED, has landed safely and looks set to generate a similar buzz.
In Cob County a corn growing enclave which nobody thinks to leave because… aww shucks, everything’s so darned perfect, a love struck couple Maizy (Sophie McShera) and Beau (Ben Joyce) spend their days gently arguing and finishing each other’s sentences. Then the unthinkable happens and the corn starts to fail. Not only does this present a nightmarish scenario of life without the sweet and golden sustenance, but how else will Cousin Lulu (Georgina Onuorah) distil her liquor? While Beau believes he can discover the root of the problem, Maizy, contrary to a fault, disagrees and sets off to look beyond their community for external expertise and assistance. She decamps to Florida (cue puns about what you’d call a person who comes from Tampa) where she meets smooth talking Gordy (Matthew Seadon-Young) who thinks he’s identified the rocks on Maizy’s bracelet as a rare and valuable mineral. The pair soon return to the backwater to stalk through possible solutions to the corn crisis (whilst maybe loading up with those rocks).
Successful country songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally were introduced to bookwriter Robert Horn with the aim of conjuring a stage show homage to Hee Haw. The Technicolor variety and comedy programme based in Kornfield Kounty, ran for over 650 episodes during 26 seasons on American TV. The result, as directed by Jack O’Brien is a small town community filled to its boots with likeable, relatable characters and the requisite near-villain who comes to see the errors of his ways. In amongst the townsfolk are Storytellers 1&2 (Monique Ashe-Palmer and the wholly irrepressible Steven Webb) who serve as dynamic links to the introduction of further folk beneath the gargantuan lopsided barn. Chief among these is Peanut (Keith Ramsay) whose weirdly gross observations and analogies are often throat-catchingly guffawable.
Choreographer Sarah O’Gleby has packed the show with snappy Matt Mattox style routines and even manages to incorporate a nod to Seven Brides For Seven Brothers with a planks and barrel number. Each song is delivered with the requisite sass or naïve earnestness by a cast at the top of its game. Most breathtaking of all, is the sheer onslaught of gags and punning. It would be difficult to name a comedy show let alone a musical in which so many are lined-up and knocked down. The entire evening is accompanied by a blend of groaning and chuckling from the audience in response to the onstage antics and it proves an absolute delight.
The musical which has already notched-up 9 Tony Award nominations on Broadway, runs at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre until 14th June and seems likely to garner similar accolades come next awards season.
