SHUCKED On Broadway - Reviews Thread- Page 9

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/30/23 at 11:32pm

I wanted to love this — it is very clever, and I always appreciate completely ORIGINAL musicals that make it to Broadway — but I thought it was just okay. Did they have their freeze day yet?

I won the lottery for tonight, and my seat was in the mezzanine, row C, seat 112... excellent view but I couldn't see Jason Howland, who conducted tonight and does a fine job with the orchestrations too. 

The full cast was in. Caroline Innerbichler makes a strong Broadway debut and I so want to see her play Alice in Bright Star several years down the line. Alex Newell holds their own and got a partial ovation after "Independently Owned." Grey Henson and Ashley D. Kelley do some nice work moving the story along, while peering over the action throughout the show like hawks. The two of them almost never leave the stage, so props to them. The ensemble sounds wonderful. 

All the dad jokes got old after a while, though I thought a small bunch were genuinely funny. Robert Horn's book does not live up to the comedic masterclass known as Tootsie, but it has somewhat of a heart. 

 

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I love the twists at the end, with 1) the conman actually knowing how to fix the corn after all, and 2) the narrators being the grandchildren of the four leads.

I was expecting a stronger score from Brandy and Shane, especially given their pedigree, but there are some sporadic highlights. Innerbichler's "Woman of the World" already has an excellent demo recording, but just wait until you hear the final version with Howland's added vocal arrangements for the ensemble. Andrew Durand sounds solid singing a pair of ballads about lost love. The obligatory "it has the juice" reference in the opening number felt forced in because of the popular meme. I look forward to a cast recording, but I won't say this calls for repeated listening. 

I feel like this may not last very long on Broadway, but regional houses will eat this up (ha) for years to come. Let's see what the critics have to say on Tuesday, but IMO, David Stone can breathe a sigh of relief at the moment. 

 

 

 

Updated On: 3/30/23 at 11:32 PM

[Wick3]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 10:28am

TaffyDavenport said: "Just got out of the matinee, and I thought it was cute. I think the critics will be kind, and I'd be surprised if there are any flat-out negative reviews."

I saw it last night and thought the same. I got most of the jokes and definitely laughed but there were a few corn jokes I just didn't understand but oh well.

I couldn't find this info since it's still in previews but the runtime last night was roughly 2.5 hours total. There was 1 intermission after 1h15m and the second act was roughly an hour. Show started at 8:05pm and I was out the doors by 10:28pm.

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 2:18pm

A few other thoughts from last night:

Everyone around me seemed to be having much more fun than I was. Very receptive audience, the laughs came fast and furious. 

Henson is playing a more fleshed-out version of Damian Hubbard in this show… not a bad thing though. Him and Kelley got entrance applause in BOTH acts. 

Set design is basically Hamilton on an angle. 

I absolutely heard the “Turn My Life Around” refrain at the top of each act. 

Updated On: 3/31/23 at 02:18 PM

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 7:32pm

Won the lotto this past week and overall I found it to be a very delightful show. Is this the next artistic masterpiece of the theatre world? Absolutely not because not every show needs to be. But did I have a smile on my face from the first moment until the last? Absolutely yes. It's light. It's fun. It's clever. And no surprise at all but yes... it's very corny.

I know others have mentioned they felt a sort of disconnect between the songs and the book but I did not get that impression at all. I felt they blended just fine. I was worded because I figured it would be a lot of country music, which it is and I HATE country music, but it's not done heavy handed so I didn't mind at all. I actually can't wait for the cast recording to be able to hear some of these songs again.

Performance wise of course got to highlight Alex. You've heard great things about Alex in this show, and yes those things are correct. Lulu's act one number brought down the house. BUT I think that alot of people are talking as if Alex gives one great number and then fading into the background which is not the case. "Independently Owned" is just an introduction number before Lulu is with us for the rest of the show and becoming a major player in the plot for the whole of act two.

I also really found myself liking Andrew Durand as Beau a lot. They could have made his character into your typical "good old hometown buy that's actually an ass once you get to know him" and for a moment at the start you think that MIGHT be going that route but I'm glad they didn't and I liked that about him. He was rather endearing and I was cheering for him. 

And major props to Ashley D. Kelley and Grey Henson as storytellers who do a masterful job of wearing multiply hats (sometimes literally) as a range of extra characters. Some amazing comedic timing from them as well.

Overall, if you don't like corny jokes, you will not like this show. Period. But if you are ready to chuckle, belly laugh, and even occasionally roll your eyes/groan at some corny jokes cracked during a light and fun story performed by some wickedly talented folks, you might like it too.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 3/31/23 at 10:38pm

I don’t know how or why but it worked. 

 

I went in really not knowing what to expect but I enjoyed it. It’s not exactly high art but it’s got heart and corn. I thought the whole ensemble did a really amazing job and I hope a few of them make it into Tony noms. The never ending stream of jokes didn’t always land for me but some were darn good. I had a grand ole time

[BETTY22]

Posted: 4/1/23 at 8:09am

Z100 Elvis Duran and his team were RAVING about the show Friday morning.

I loved it when Broadway crosses over to the top 100 music station in the USA. 

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 4/1/23 at 11:16pm

im perplexed by any lukewarm responses to this show.

its a totally original, brand new, musical that is both very funny and has a very pleasant score with standout performances. how is this not something we want to welcome to bway with open arms? how is this not The Whole Point?

not all of the humor worked for me. the show spits out a joke a minute, and only half made me laugh- but thats alot! and overall the audience was howling in stitches. AGAIN- isnt that what we are looking for with new musicals? 

the show doesnt bother with any message to ram down our throat, and its silly plot isnt taken seriously at all. so the mostly good but not great songs move things along just fine, and then every few minutes, Grey Henson has this killer one-liner that makes you burst out laughing. its alot of fun.

It felt like different writers wrote for each character (not a bad thing!), and the Storytellers were written for me; Cahoon was a whole different type of silliness that didnt do it for me, but had the audience around me rolling on the floor. The show is strongest at the start humor-wise, and then wraps it all up in a touching, semi-surprisey bow at the end, and drags in the middle a bit. 

I thought both Durand and Innerbichler sounded great and carried the love story just fine. (Her mic needs to be turned up when shes singing with the full company, but she nailed her numbers). Newell got a full standing ovation, stop the show reaction to the big Act 1 number, but I agree with someone above that Lulu only really becomes a character in Act 2 and Newell nails it--the first time I've seen them do more than sing/scream their faces off and actually land the humor/harmonies/feelings. I hope they (and Durand, for that matter) are nominated come awards season.

Anyway, I had fun, the audience sure did, and I hope the critics appreciate it for what it is, and that it picks up enough steam/awards so that it can tour. 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 11:21am

Just watched the CBS Sunday Morning piece, and kinda fell for the brief snippets of the score. I get a Bright Star vibe with a smidgeon of Big River. Tuneful, and well sung. I immediately booked TDF tickets, after being wildly indifferent for the last two months (and it's been on TDF that long). Sometimes, marketing works; who knew? Sometimes, television magazine pieces do sell tickets. Even if they're heavily discounted ones.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 6:45pm

I won the lottery for this too. The confirmation said the tickets would be emailed one hour before, and if not, to pickup at will call. No email, so had to go to the box office. Ticket was center mezz row D. The confirmation also said to show up 40 minutes before, which I did not, but they weren't kidding. The line to get in stretched all the way to Eighth Avenue. If this was any indication, definitely show up early. I can't remember the last time I've been to the Nederlander--Million Dollar Quartet?--so I don't remember if it's always like this.

The show was fine. Nothing to rave about, but nothing I really disliked either. It's cute, and the cast is talented and appealing. For all the talk in this thread about it being a joke-a-minute, I actually could have used some more--felt like there were some dead spots. I'd also read how there were too many ballads, but for the most part I thought there was a good variety in the songs--at least in the first act, which I thought was much stronger. The second act, when it started to focus solely on the love quadrangle began to feel interminable. Needed more jokes, or shorter songs, or...something to pick up the pace. But the score was actually better than I was expecting going in. A pleasant enough show, even if it felt like it could (should) have been shorter in the end.

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 6:47pm

We got to the theater last night around 7:45 and pretty much just walked right in so the line must have moved very fast. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 6:53pm

Maybe today was just slow then. Yeah, got to the theater at 2:40, proceeded to walk all the way down 41st almost to Eighth to find the end of the line. Stepped inside around 2:54.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 6:59pm

Or maybe they opened the doors early last night with the rain - I just thought of that. 

[chanel]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 7:43pm

Anyone know why there was no song list in the Playbill?

And why there were no individual bows at the end?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 9:20pm

^ I’m guessing they didn’t list the songs in the Playbill because they knew there would be cuts/changes/restructuring. 

[CukorLover]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 9:33pm

MemorableUserName said: "I won the lottery for this too. The confirmation said the tickets would be emailed one hour before, and if not, to pickup at will call. No email, so had to go to the box office. Ticket was center mezz row D. The confirmation also said to show up 40 minutes before, which I did not, but they weren't kidding. The line to get in stretched all the way to Eighth Avenue. If this was any indication, definitely show up early. I can't remember the last time I've been to the Nederlander--Million Dollar Quartet?--so I don't remember if it's always like this.

The show was fine. Nothing to rave about, but nothing I really disliked either. It's cute, and the cast is talented and appealing. For all the talk in this thread about it being a joke-a-minute, I actually could have used some more--felt like there were some dead spots. I'd also read how there were too many ballads, but for the most part I thought there was a good variety in the songs--at least in the first act, which I thought was much stronger. The second act, when it started to focus solely on the love quadrangle began to feel interminable. Needed more jokes, or shorter songs, or...something to pick up the pace. But the score was actually better than I was expecting going in. A pleasant enough show, even if it felt like it could (should) have been shorter in the end."

I had the same issue as you this afternoon. Never received the lotto ticket via email, arrived 40 minutes early, waited at the box office, and was at the end of the line stretching all the way to Port Authority. Fortunately, it moved fast and I was in my seat by 2:55; Third row, center mezzanine.

The show was just OK for me. I guess I was hoping for more of a Mel Brooks type of comedy here. I didn't see TOOTSIE, and am not familiar with Horns' work. Then again, they promise "corn" and they do deliver corny. It just wasn't for me.

Before leaving for the theatre, I caught the "CBS Sunday Morning" segment and had a glimmer of hope. Sadly, I wasn't as enamored with the score as the two songwriters were. Too many ballads for starters. There's also significant pacing issues that drag the show down. It may have worked better as a 90-minute piece, with no intermission.

The standouts for me were Cahoon, Durand (for their comic abilities/timing) and Newell for some terrific, stand alone moments.

If SHUCKED has any kind of afterlife, it sure looks like an easy one to cast.

 

 

[miamama2]

Posted: 4/2/23 at 11:08pm

chanel said: (snip) And why there were no individual bows at the end?"

My guess is the bows haven't been choreographed yet. They're usually the VERY last thing.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 12:48am

Caroline Innerbichler has such a winning stage presence in this (which I was reminded of in the CBS Sunday Morning piece)

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 12:51am

chanel said: "Anyone know why there was no song list in the Playbill?

And why there were no individual bows at the end?"

Often a song list isn't in the playbill during previews in case things are added or changed or rearranged during the process.

As for the bows, sometimes it's a directorial choice –– especially for an ensemble piece like this show –– not to have individual bows.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/3/23 at 12:34pm

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 6:28am

Hope to see the show this week!

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 12:23pm

I'm really curious to see how reviews go for this one. This feels like a show that very much needs good reviews & some Tonys attention to get it going from a box office perspective.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 2:06pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "I'm really curious to see how reviews go for this one. This feels like a show that very much needs good reviews & some Tonys attention to get it going from a box office perspective."

I broadly comedic musical like this could probably play well on tour or licensed out to community theaters - think something like Don't Hug Me.

[PublicHorizons]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 2:23pm

Absolutely loved this, hoping it does well, FYI not sure this has been mentioned here but they give out buttons and stickers when you are lining up to go in, super cute! 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 4:48pm

Corn Kid is there:

https://twitter.com/Shucked_Musical/status/1643350962134818816

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/4/23 at 4:54pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Corn Kid is there:

https://twitter.com/Shucked_Musical/status/1643350962134818816"

How adorable!