Bass Hall audiences likely to find plenty of laughs in ‘Shucked’
Robert Horn believes now is the right time for the world to see “Shucked,” the musical created from his script. Judging from its success, it’s hard to argue with him.
“People really need laughter right now,” said Horn, who won a Tony Award in 2019 for writing the musical version of “Tootsie” and was nominated for another in 2023 for “Shucked.”
“If you can make people laugh, you can talk to them,” he added.
“Shucked,” which was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won one for Alex Newell as Best Featured Actor in a Musical, is coming to Bass Hall July 29-Aug. 3 as part of Performing Arts Fort Worth’s Broadway at the Bass Series presented by PNC Bank.
It’s the second show that Horn wrote to be performed at Bass. “Tootsie” came to Fort Worth in 2023.
“Shucked” is about the fictional community of Cob County, where the corn crop suddenly begins to die, threatening their livelihood and the upcoming wedding of Maizy and Beau. Maizy seeks help in Tampa, where she encounters a con artist posing as a “corn doctor” who tries to exploit the town’s desperation. The musical follows their journey as they try to save the corn and their town.
And during it all are a whole lot of “corny” laughs, Horn said.
“Our director, Jack O’Brien (a three-time Tony winner and a nominee for this show) said he counted 186 guaranteed laughs in this show,” Horn said with a chuckle of his own.
Horn described “Shucked” as a Vaudeville style comedy, saying the humor “changes each night, depending on the audience.”
Work on ‘Designing Women’
Horn grew up and lives in New York. However, his wife is from Texas. Also, he cut his teeth as a writer working on the popular TV series “Designing Women,” which ran from 1986-1993 and was based in Atlanta.
“’Designing Women’ addressed a lot of issues and did it through laughter,” he said. “It opened the door to talk about sensitive issues through comedy.”
In that same vein, he said “Shucked” hits a nerve in the same wonderful way.
“It doesn’t make fun of anybody. It says ‘Look, we all want the same things in life,’” he said.
He also drew greatly upon the experiences of “Shucked” music and lyric creators Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, who are from Mineral Wells and Nashville.
Idea for ‘Shucked’
Horn said the idea for “Shucked” originated from a phone call he received from a man connected with Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. At that time Gaylord Production Company owned both the legendary music venue and the right to the once popular TV show “Hee Haw,” which ran from 1969-93.
Horn responded by saying he wasn’t interested in writing a variety show, but would like to write a book musical. So he, McAnally and Clark created “Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical,” which made its world premiere at the Dallas Theater Center in September of 2015.
But Horn said he wasn’t satisfied with the product.
“We just didn’t get it right. I called Shane and Brandy and said let’s start over,” he said. “That’s what ‘Shucked’ became.”
Also concerning himself, McAnally and Clark, Horn revealed they are working on a musical from a movie that takes place in Texas, but can’t say any more at the moment.
Show’s message is one of tolerance and acceptance
Horn said ultimately “Shucked” has a message of tolerance and acceptance.
“But it doesn’t hit you over the head,” he explained.
“I’ve been greatly affected by the division in this country. We’ve been distracted from our values,” he said. “We shouldn’t be afraid to discuss the things we disagree on. We might not change minds, but we get nowhere if we don’t even try.”
In “Shucked,” Horn uses corn as a metaphor for this. The folks in Cob County have grown stalks so high they’ve closed themselves off from the rest of the world, and as the stalks die they must deal with the world around them.
“Unless you open your heart to people different from you, you won’t grow,” he said, adding with a smile, “That message comes across so much more smoothly in the form of music and comedy.”