ORLANDO, Fla. – The Dr. Phillips Center is wrapping up its 2024-25 Broadway Series with lots of laughs and really good music.
“Shucked” opened to a packed house Tuesday night, serving up one punch line after another for much of the two-hour performance. When the cast wasn’t cracking up the audience with puns, they were delivering powerful songs, with music and lyrics written by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, two people who’ve worked with some of the biggest names in country music.
The Tony award-winning musical comedy centers on a group of country folk from small-town Cob County, whose entire existence revolves around their love of corn.
Girl next door, Maizy, and her farmer boyfriend, Beau, are planning to wed, but their plans get delayed when Cob County’s corn crop starts to die. Maizy decides she needs to leave the comfort of Cob County to find a corn cure and that’s when she stumbles upon a podiatrist, Gordy, who markets himself as a “corn doctor” in Tampa, Florida.
[MORE: Broadway tour of new musical ‘Shucked’ coming to Orlando]
Kernel of truth: Gordy is a fraud and as predictable and corny as it may be, new romances pop up and ultimately everyone lives happily ever after. I found the second act to be even more a-maize-ing than the first, and the real showstopper may have been some of Beau’s (performed by Jake Odmark) solo performances, including “Somebody Will” and “OK.”
If you are a pun lover who’s OK with some adult themes and innuendos, you will love this show. The audience was cracking up throughout the performance. Anyone who has followed me on social media over the years, knows I’m a big fan of “mom” aka “dad jokes,” but some of the puns were just so corny, I had to let them go in one ear and out the other... see what I mean!
If you’ve had the chance to see “The Book of Mormon,” I’d call this a toned-down version of that musical, which also elicited non-stop laughs and a standing ovation at the Dr. Phillips Center.
Shucked will be performing at the Dr. Phillips Center through June 29, 2025. For more on ticket information, visit DrPhillipsCenter.org.
Side note, I couldn’t help but overhear all the buzz about next year’s Broadway in Orlando season coming from other people in the audience. Some of the shows include “The Wiz,” “& Juliet,” “The Notebook” and “SIX.” For more information visit, click here.