At last summer’s Orange County Fair, more than 50,000 ears of corn were shucked by County Fair Corn Stars.
At Segerstrom Center for the Arts, nearly 50,000 theatergoers are getting “Shucked” this fall.
“Shucked” is the Tony Winning musical comedy that was planted on Broadway in 2023 and is now on tour; it runs at Segerstrom Center through November 23.
“Shucked” is a corn-packed show with music by country songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McNally and a book by Robert Horn (“Tootsie”). It takes place in Cob County, where the residents are facing a corn blight that could end their way of life.
Yes, “Shucked” is a comedy where corny jokes are harvested every minute, and the crop of cheerful songs help keep the pacing brisk.
“These are not traditional musical theater songs; the music is so different from what you normally hear on Broadway. They are earworm-catchy tunes,” said cast member Sean Casey Flanagan, who has local OC ties—he graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a theater degree.
According to Flanagan, the plot revolves around a rural town where everyone grows corn, and no one ever leaves. The corn starts dying, and a girl named Maisie, who’s grown up there, leaves the town to get help. And then, said Flanagan, “hilarity ensues.”
“There are tons of puns, it’s fast paced, the jokes per minute are through the roof,” said Flanagan. “By the end of Act One, you don’t know how many jokes there were, you just keep laughing the whole time.”
Flanagan has been on tour with the show for a year, and among the tour stops are cities where the main agricultural product is corn.
“We do incredible in those cities. Des Moines loved it,” stated Flanagan. “There have been plenty of spots like that, and they tend to love it. They get it. But even in Southern California, you drive a couple of hours and you’re in farmland.”
Flanagan’s role in “Shucked” is swing, which means he had to learn eight different “tracks” or roles in the ensemble, and can go on at a moment’s notice for any of those roles.
“I’m not on stage every night, but I go on plenty,” he said. “Luckily for this show, it’s not insanely difficult. I know 10 tracks, but I think I regularly go on for six or seven tracks. Stage wise, the blocking and the choreography for me isn’t too complicated, because at any one moment, there’s only eight members of the ensemble on stage. What is difficult is knowing all of the lines and all of the jokes and being able to land the jokes of 10 different people. It’s given me a new appreciation for theater.”
Flanagan plans to be with the tour for a long time, and enjoys the reaction of audience members when they come to see the show.
“I think if anyone’s on the fence about seeing ‘Shucked,’ just give it a chance. I think you will not be disappointed. Just do it. You’ll have so much fun. Just go have a good time.”
For tickets, visit www.SCFTA.org.
