The mostly irrelevant and altogether corny jokes, some smutty, land hard and fast in “Shucked,” the Broadway musical about corn and love.
Be forewarned: Produced here by BroadwaySF, with a book by Robert Horn, the 2023 Tony nominee in nine categories including Best Musical specializes in puns. For example: This is a “farm to fable” story and “Roe v. Wade is the best way to cross a river.”
And there’s only one truly memorable, exciting song amid the 15 numbers by Nashville musicians Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally.
But the cast of 17 actor-singers is strong, and that includes the ensemble players, most of whom have a specific character and a special moment or two in the spotlight. In their de rigueur denim and overalls (costumes by Tilly Grimes), they are altogether physically adept. The choreography by Sarah O’gleby includes not just a jubilant barn dance but also lots of challenging feats, including a clever scene involving wooden barrels and planks.
The story, narrated by two characters played by Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis, whose identities are revealed at the very end, is purposefully simplistic. In remote, insular little Cob County, which thrives due to its abundant cornfields, the corn suddenly stops growing, and the inhabitants don’t know why. Being storybook country folks, they inevitably vary from uneducated to downright dumb.
Pert and blond Maizy (Danielle Wade), who’s engaged to her childhood sweetheart Beau (Jake Odmark) and has an elevated opinion of her own abilities, is determined to solve the corn problem, so she ventures out of the hick burg and heads to: Tampa.
She meets, and being naive, falls for Gordy (Quinn VanAntwerp), a podiatrist (specializing in corns, get it?) and smooth operator in a heap of gangster-related trouble. Thoughts of her beloved Beau disappear.
The love story at the heart of “Shucked” is predictable in a Shakespearean comedy sort of way, and the characters are generally one-dimensional. But the twists and turns, though they don’t veer far from constraints of the plot, leave room for director Jack O’Brien’s fresh and inventive staging.
For example, a gymnastic, full-cast drunken barroom scene is perfectly paced. And in a short and clever sidebar, the two narrators play several roles apiece simply by switching hats, with Lagerstam so mind-bogglingly good at changing voices, I thought she was lip-synching to a male actor’s backstage vocalizing.
Amid the cookie-cutter characters there is, thankfully, Maizy’s cousin, whisky distiller Lulu (Miki Abraham, who played the role on Broadway), a tough cookie who’s way smarter than everyone else. Her signature song in Act 1, “Independently Owned,” a declaration of feminine independence, is a standout in a musical that’s trying awfully hard to be both up-to-date and traditional; it succeeds best due to the talented players.
“Shucked” continues through Oct. 5 at the Curran Theatre, 445 Geary St., San Francisco. Tickets are $62-$199 at broadway.sf.com