SHUCKED On Broadway - Reviews Thread — Page 12

But kimberly akimbo?

I think the main question for Shucked is whether people will pay for full price seats, or even premium seats. I happened to pay full price for unnecessarily good seats because we had to make a last-second switch and the show interested us more than our other options. We had a busy, hectic day and a light musical comedy - and a new, original story - sounded like a good choice.

But I know that my somewhat tepid response to the overall musical was probably influenced by the fact that I paid $162.50 because there were no other seats left. At any other show, these would be premium seats, but I was aware that I paid a lot more than everyone else in the theater.

So were my expectations unreasonably high? Yeah, I suspect so. Was it a fun show? Absolutely. My wife enjoyed it even more than I did. You can argue that Alex Newell’s showstopper was not needed, but if I’m coming to Broadway for the first time in nearly four years, I want to see a showstopper! The supporting cast was all good, and while I thought Andrew Durand’s comedic talents were a bit underused, he still got the show’s best ballad and was featured a lot in the second act.

The Shucked marketing people have done a fine job raising interest in the show and transitioning to capitalize on Newell (video release) and Durand (Today show appearance) and its positive reviews.

My guess is that it still won’t be enough to turn the show into a hit, but I’ve been wrong before and wish the musical every success. There’s an old-school charm to Shucked that has lingered for me. If it’s out of step with our contentious times (even while slipping in progressive messages along with its choice of creatives - both score writers are LGBTQ - and a key cast member), as someone suggested, is that such a bad thing?

Updated On: 4/8/23 at 03:12 AM

One does not simply hire Alex Newell and NOT give them a showstopper.

I went again last night and the show is in great shape. I love the rewrite for the top of Act II so poor John Behlmann doesn’t spend the entire number pushing a rock across the stage at a snails pace. (I joked about it with him at the stage door since, at 6’4, he’s only a few inches shorter than me and he said “my back is grateful&rdquo. Newell’s voice definitely sounded a bit rougher last night and some of the bigger, beltier notes had a bit of growl in them, but they still got a mid show standing ovation and has some of the best dialogue.

As I understand, Grey Henson and Ashley D. Wright are both out with COVID, but the understudy Storytellers (Jimmy Brewer and Rheaume Crenshaw) were still very good if hard to hear at times. I liked Brewer a bit better than Grey Henson because he felt like he blended with the company more and landed the jokes with more of an “Aw Shucks” (no pun intended) earnestness than Grey “similar to Damian from MG” approach.

Today was an interesting one. Alex Newell was sick, and Rheaume Crenshaw went on, book in hand. During the first song it wasn’t clear if that was part of her “bit,” but she kept looking at the script and it became evident. She needed it and missed a few moments when she had trouble flipping pages, but at the end of the show, they announced that the understudy for Newell was getting married this weekend and Crenshaw stepped in with 30 minutes of rehearsal time. A commendable feat.

Aside from that taking me out of the show a bit, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. There was so many laugh-out-loud moments and the songs were catchy and fun. It was really an ensemble piece with everyone having some great moments, but I found myself laughing at Kevin Cahoon and smiling during Andrew Durand’s songs most. I wish the cast and the show lots of success!

Updated On: 4/9/23 at 06:44 PM

Yes, it's true — the other Lulu understudy is Miki Abraham, who married Alex Joseph Grayson (Jim Conley in Parade) over the weekend... congrats!

https://playbill.com/article/how-miki-abraham-and-alex-joseph-grayson-planned-their-wedding-while-opening-broadway-shows

Agreed. This isn’t community theater.

kidmanboy said: "I'm willing to bet most people in the audience would've preferred the show go on than be cancelled (out of town guests, an Easter day trip into the city, etc). The show would've also been out upwards of $100K. They made the right call.You could have argued in these times she should've had more rehearsal by now - but considering she spent much of the the past week or two covering another part, I can understand.

I was in the mezz and there wasn't a single dry eye during the curtain speech describing this actress's hard work."

Pre-Covid, putting someone on, book in hand, would have been unacceptable. People have become more understanding as understudies and standby’s have become the unsung heroes of Broadway during this time (rightfully so) however, at what point does it become a nuisance for a paying audience to be given this type of performance? I don’t think it’s fair to them. If the Production has to cancel a show and lose money, that’s their problem… They should have hired more understudies and swings, and they should have given this performer time to rehearse properly. It shouldn’t fall on the paying audience to be understanding and accepting of these circumstances anymore, over a year and a half into broadway reopening. Just my opinion.

Newell's been out a lot since they opened. Hope she's okay.

ACL2006 said: "Newell's been out a lot since they opened. Hope she's okay."

He hasn’t been out "a lot" but I know how you love making things up. But, nah.

Updated On: 4/10/23 at 03:55 PM

Honestly, I hear what you’re all saying and I think I’m firmly on the fence about this one. I was happy to see the show and enjoyed it a lot, but yes, her shuffling through script pages did take me out of the scenes in various moments. She also had a couple of times where she couldn’t flip the pages fast enough, so she missed lines in a song. And yes, at these prices, there are certain expectations from an audience. She really did a good job with what little rehearsal and experience she had, and like I said, I was happy to see the show, but the flipping of the script was hard to watch. I found myself thinking, “Will she flip it in time?” Based on her massive deep breath at bows, she felt the same way - just happy to get through it.

Whew. I caught the show just in time to see Alex’s evening performance before calling out sick. Independently Owned is the best song by far (as pointed out). I noticed more gravel/scratch in Alex’s voice than in the official video on YouTube but still a showstopper.

The rest of the show is entertaining but didn’t blow me away. Silly & fluffy. The performances were good and I found the score to be sweet (especially Somebody Will), but I kept feeling like I had heard some version of the jokes before. Many felt old time-y. Some landed, some didn’t.

The audience was really into it though. Laughing hysterically at every pun and joke. If Shucked really is attracting a younger audience I guess they may not have heard these before?

Bottom line … enjoyable (especially from a lottery seat).

RememberAChorusLine said: "Whew. I caught the show just in time to see Alex’s evening performance before calling out sick. Independently Owned is the best song by far (as pointed out). I noticed more gravel/scratch in Alex’s voice than in the official video on YouTube but still a showstopper.

The rest of the show is entertaining but didn’t blow me away. Silly & fluffy. The performances were good and I found the score to be sweet (especially Somebody Will), but I kept feeling like I had heard some version of the jokes before. Many felt old time-y. Some landed, some didn’t.

The audience was really into it though. Laughing hysterically at every pun and joke. If Shucked really is attracting a younger audience I guess they may not have heard these before?

Bottom line … enjoyable (especially from a lottery seat)."

Interesting about the younger audience. I saw it yesterday with my husband, sister, sister in law and my 18 year old daughter. Three out of four adults (substantially older than the 18 year old( enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was ok - liked the second half far better, although thought the acting was fabulous. But my daughter didn’t like the show at all. She rolled her eyes a bunch at the jokes. I personally only laughed out loud a couple of times, but I also realized in the second half to quit trying to find something deep in the show and just have fun. I have seen a bunch of very heavy plays lately, so I needed to remind myself sometimes it is okay to have some corny fun (sorry, couldn’t resist).

pippy1- I saw Shucked from the last row in the orchestra, to the side, right next to the exit doors. I believe it’s Row Q. I didn’t have any issues. I felt like I saw everything. There was one thing in act 2 I missed but that was my fault since I got distracted by something else.