SHUCKED On Broadway - Reviews Thread — Page 4

Kad said: "While whether the marketing’s successful is tbd, it certainly is a stark contrast to something like KPop, which just seemed to plop down on Broadway, do the barest minimum and a half-assed social media engagement campaign, and then act shocked and aggrieved that it flopped."

PREACH. I still am not entirely sure what KPop was about, and certainly never found myself smiling to myself at an aggressive/infectious/clever ad campaign. Shucked reminds me a BIT of that Seth Rudetsky show that was also at the Nederlander, in that it seems to embrace its inherent silliness (corniness.... sorry) which is immediately endearing to me (many?). THAT SAID, silly doesnt generate $100+ prices, HUMOR does, so this WOM is pretty encouraging. And I"d love/expect to see this wave lead to a Tony nom for Alex Newell.

So we have this, Kimberly Akimbo & Some Like It Hot as locks for Tony nominations for Best Musical? What also could be the other two nominees? New York, New York? A Beautiful Noise? KPOP?

Other two noms will be & Juliet, and then it’s anyone’s guess for the fifth slot.

Second what clever2 says about the score. It feels like how the scores of the classic musical comedies did- the songs can be funny but aren’t typically constant deliveries for jokes, but rather for emotion and character. It balances the gag-a-second book well.

as for runtime, I would estimate 2:15 or so. The show started late due to the house opening late, but I was texting friends as I was exiting the theater by 10:37.

Has anyone tried the general rush yet and if so, where were your seats?

Alright. I guess I get to be the grinch, but this was super meh. I prefer to be respectable as possible, especially with a show still in early previews, so I’ll state that overall I had a mostly pleasant evening, but this was definitely not the show for me (strangely coming from someone who loves puns).

I didn’t see Tootsie, but can someone confirm whether or not that show also relied heavily on sexual innuendo and potty humor ? Based on the reactions of the section around me, I’m not sure how well this show is going to play for anyone older than millennials-ish (who for the most part we’re definitely enjoying the show). The boomers around me were …not as pleased.


I will say that much of the score was very tuneful and Alex Newell absolutely slays. The cast is very appealing and sings terrifically. But I also believe this type of show needs actors who are going to ham things up way over the top if they want to really sell this AIRPLANE!/Urinetown type humor, which is making me think of how hilarious Nancy Opel was as Miss Pennywise.

Leaf Coneybear said: "Also, not sure if this is really notable but I found it odd. There were two audience plants in the show tonight (maybe plants isn’t the right word?) wearing shucked merch and employee lanyards. They didn’t do much besides clap at jokes that weren’t hitting, but they did try to start a standing O after Alex’s song (well deserved, but no one joined in)."

I’d bet a large sum of money that those were swings

ACL2006 said: "So we have this, Kimberly Akimbo & Some Like It Hot as locks for Tony nominations for Best Musical? What also could be the other two nominees? New York, New York? A Beautiful Noise? KPOP?"

I think “& Juliet” is very much secure to a nomination.

Also, we dont actually have to get 5 nominees, right? Or the expansion needs that?

I think Kimberly Akimbo, Some Like It Hot, & Juliet and Shuckled can be our nominees.

I mean you can count out a show that audiences haven’t seen yet. NYNY might be amazing.


Also curious to see how this appeals to the standard Broadway audience or tourists. So far it seems all the young folk love it - and I love what I’ve heard and loved the book of Tootsie (maybe not so much the plot, which sounds like the case here too), so curious to hear more.

RippedMan said: "I mean you can count out a show that audiences haven’t seen yet. NYNY might be amazing.


Also curious to see how this appeals to the standard Broadway audience or tourists. So far it seems all the young folk love it - and I love what I’ve heard and loved the book of Tootsie (maybe not so much the plot, which sounds like the case here too), so curious to hear more."

As its a comedy, it might be a little hit and miss depending if audiences are fans of the comedic style. Its not filled with the Jewish humor that's staple of musical comedies. Instead its a mix of blue comedy, dad jokes, puns, one liners, sight gags, and vaudevillian routines, which should appeal to all audiences funny bones, but the blue comedy might take things a little too far for some. I think partially because the show is very wholesome unlike Book of Mormon, which constantly leans into the blue comedy and offend everyone humor, some older audiences might be offended by it.

Looking at the reddit thread the dissenting opinion took issue with a lot of the plot contrivances for a … MUSICAL COMEDY. It seems like those complaining are expecting a plot heavy farce, which Shucked is not, nor does it pretend to me. Now I am not saying the show is perfect, but for a musical comedy Horne's book it tight. Its a throwback to classic musical comedies, as instead of focusing on some wacky plot that will lead to hilarious hijinks, but also plot, Horne's book is much more focused on character dynamics and relationships. In all seriousness Horne's book basically stops focusing on and essentially wraps up the shows initial conflict/plot about 3/8's of the way through Act I to instead focus on character relationships.

Part of me wonders if this has to do with audiences becoming accustomed to stage adaptations of films. Film as a medium very much favors dynamic plots over character development compared to theater, so in the rise of stage adaptations of films audiences have started to expect the same from stage musicals?

I also love how they are starting to question if those who are giving it positive reviews are being paid/plants. If a small musical like Shucked has the money to pay audiences to like it, what's Bad Cinderella's excuse?

Kad said: "Yeah, I think that a secondary reason that the show has largely been coy about its plot is because, on paper, the plot isn't something that will get people to run out and buy tickets. It's pretty standard classic musical comedy fare.

For all its modern sensibility, the show is closer to something like Hello Dolly! than Book of Mormon. The plot is enough to form a compelling show out of, but it's predictable and full of tropes. Characters are archetypes, not richly realized portraits like Kimberly Akimbo or Strange Loop. It's a vehicle for songs and jokes and performances. And the show excels at those three things. You have to look at what a show is trying to do and grade it accordingly.

I think this is the central reason I did not care for the show. As the plot is really superfluous and uninvolved, I didn't care about anything that happened to the characters at all. That left me with a few things to possibly cling on to: The music, performances, and any comedy. The music in many cases was really lovely, and it's performed and sung wonderfully (and frankly the best part of the show). However, the comedy fell flat in so many places for me, though, so that was a pretty fatal blow.

Curious to see how this one plays out if/when the younger crowd begins to fizzle out. I'm imagining this playing to an older crowd at a matinee in the future, and.... eek.

As everyone else has stated, however, their marketing campaign is absolutely brilliant and is doing a terrific job getting people talking about the show and in the building.

Thinking about how much fun Forbidden Broadway could have with Shucked.

Updated On: 3/10/23 at 12:34 PM

I think the past has shown that audiences aren’t really interested in predictable musicals. So curious to see how this fares. We’ve been spoiled with such complex shows like A Strange Loop and Fun Home that I’m not sure people will be willing to pay premium for a musical comedy. Book of Mormon had South Park as its angle. When was the last hit musical comedy that made its money back?