We love this time of year: summer is just around the corner, and what better way to take advantage of these long, warm evenings than a spot of live entertainment in Regent’s Park? Kicking off the 2025 season at the Open Air Theatre is Shucked, a new musical that ran on Broadway during 2023-2024 and is now making its European debut in London. The show has a book by Robert Horn, music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and is directed by Jack O’Brien.
So what’s it all about? Well, it’s about corn. Yes, really. We’re in Cob County and the crop has mysteriously started to fail; local girl Maizy (Sophie McShera) has taken it upon herself to solve the problem. She embarks on a journey to the big city – Tampa – in search of answers. She stumbles across corn doctor Gordy (Matthew Seadon-Young), who is more familiar with treating corn on the feet as opposed to the crop variety, and enlists his help.
Honestly, the plot is fairly thin and straightforward – there’s not a huge amount to sink your teeth into – but this musical comedy gets it right where it needs to: the songs are great and it’s genuinely very funny. Before you go, be warned: there are a lot of jokes in Shucked, in fact almost too many. There are so many ridiculous one-liners that you’ll barely have recovered from one before they’re making another. A fair few of these are groan-inducing dad jokes, but thankfully there are plenty of brilliant puns in there too.
Most importantly, the songs here are wonderful – the ensemble numbers are a whole lot of fun, with some cute choreography (an early number involving ears of corn is a highlight) and there are a couple of standout solo moments. Most notably, Beau’s (Ben Joyce) Somebody Will and Lulu’s (Georgina Onuorah) Independently Owned are both soaring, gritty ballads that allow these singers to showcase their powerhouse vocals, both earning rapturous (and thoroughly deserved) ovations on press night.
We also particularly enjoyed the show’s two narrators, Monique Ash-Palmer and Steven Webb, who make for a wonderful double act – with the latter having a number of hilarious scene-stealing moments. As well as narrating, they take on a variety of minor roles throughout, swiftly switching between a variety of deliberately terrible disguises and ridiculous accents – it’s all very silly and it’s impossible not to be drawn in by their charm.
Shucked is a hugely enjoyable show and a fantastic way to start the new summer season at the Open Air Theatre. While it may not be the most substantial piece of theatre we’ve seen, it has heart, warmth, humour and great songs – what more could you want? Yes it’s corny, but it’s terrific fun too.
GAY TIMES gives Shucked – 4/5
More information can be found here.
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