We’ve all seen the posters. What is “Shucked”?

“Shucked” is a Broadway comedy-musical about the small Cob County whose economy relies on the production of corn, the masses of cobs hiding them from the outside world, creating a tight-knit community and love of corn. Until, that is, the corn starts rotting. “Shucked” is playing at the Providence Performing Arts Center from October 20th to the 27th. It’s the first location in their national tour, running until September of 2025. 

The main character Maizey, who is engaged to Beau, her childhood sweetheart, is the only resident willing to venture beyond the stalks in search of someone who can help fix their corn. Everyone else in the town says that they can fix their problems on their own, that they don’t need outside help with the corn.

Maizey ventures to the big city, Tampa, FL to search for someone to help fix the corn, postponing her and Beau’s wedding. She meets Gordy, a con man who says that he is a corn doctor who can help her, believing that Cob County can help him with his debt to some gangsters. In reality, he is a podiatrist that Maizey misheard as being a “corn doctor”.

According to Entertainment Weekly, who gave the musical a grade of B, the standout song in the show is “Independently Owned” sung by Lulu, Maizey’s best friend. It’s about the American dream of small business entrepreneurship and “an anthem of Black female independence”.

Tickets for “Shucked” range from $44 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, as well as the Saturday and Sunday matinees on the 2nd balcony to $82 on Saturday night in the orchestra pit (excluding the Golden Circle). You can buy them in the Events & Tickets section of the PPAC RI website.